That 70s Gate
by David Falkayn
Summary: Jackie Burckhardt has to confront her past to save the future. Resumed and revised story.
1. Chapter 1

_I'd like to apologize to everyone who's read this story for the long delay in updating. Unfortunately, between dealing with a serious illness and other domestic concerns, I hadn't had either the energy or, frankly speaking, the desire to write. Thankfully, my health is improving and I'm getting back into the swing of things. After reading through the story, I realized there were tons of problems and so I've decided to revise and revamp it from square one. I hope everyone likes the Mk. 2 version and again, my apologies and I'll try to be more diligent about updating. Thank you._

THAT 70's GATE

"Grab Rodriguez and make for the Gate! I'll cover you!" A petite figure wearing dark green BDU's called out as she popped out from her hiding spot behind a large rock to fire a quick burst from her assault rifle.

"Not without you, Major!" A dark-skinned man also dressed in BDUs, wearing the insignia of an Air Force sergeant shouted back as he and another teammate supported their wounded comrade between them.

"Go!" The raven haired major ordered as she dived for cover behind a rock, just avoiding the super-heated plasma bolt passing overhead. "I'll be right behind you!"

"Dial home device activated." One of the men shouted as the Stargate's wormhole opened with a sudden whoosh. "Stargate opened."

"Move it!" The major ordered as her team staggered through the gate. Then, after laying down a final burst of fire, a smirk crossed the major's lips as two of the Goauld Khepri's best Jaffa warriors crumpled to the grown. Plasma bolts filling the air, the tiny leader of SG-4 ran towards the stargate as fast as her feet could carry her, diving into the blue, almost placid opening as one of the bolts struck her leg. Ignoring the searing pain, the major barely hung on to consciousness as she rematerialized on the other side of the gate where she finally allowed herself to lapse into unconsciousness, barely hearing the frantic call, "Medic!"

_Flash! _

_The unconscious major dreamed she was a teenager again living in her hometown of Point Place, Wisconsin standing on the other side of a familiar door as she overheard two of her friends arguing._

"I can't tonight, Eric. You know I have to babysit my sister."

"Crap, Donna! " _A whiny voice that Jackie immediately recognized as belonging to Eric Forman responded_. " That means we'll have to listen to Jackie all night!"

"It's not that bad, Eric." _Donna Pinciotti's contralto voice responded with a mixture of sympathy and amusement._

"Yes it is!" _Eric whined_.

_As she continued to eavesdrop, Jackie heard other sounds: Hyde snickering in amusement as Michael Kelso, her first love, chortled gleefully, not saying a word in her defense. Steeling herself, Jackie wiped the tears of disappointment as she reached for the door knob and, plastering a fake smile on her face, called out with false cheer as she opened the door, _

"Michael!"

_Flash!_

"Brain waves are spiking, Dr. Frazier!" An air force nurse called out as Dr. Frazier rushed to the injured major's bedside.

"Side effect from her time in Eris's sarcophagus a few years back." The doctor quickly diagnosed.  
>She's in REM cycle now. Increase her painkiller dosage by .5 cc. She should settle down soon enough."<p>

"The increased dosage is doing the trick, Doctor." The nurse responded. "Her brain waves are returning to normal."

"Good." Dr. Frasier sighed in relief, "Continue monitoring and let me know if there are any other changes."

_Flash!_

"Donna? Where's your sister?" _Jackie inquired as she glanced into the room opposite her friend's._

"Sister? What are you talking about, Jackie? You know I don't have a sister." _A confused Donna responded and then teased, _"Have you been into Hyde's stash without him knowing about it?"

"No! Of course not!' _Jackie replied and then said, _"I know it sounds weird, but for some reason, I thought you had a sister."

"Sometimes I wish I did" _Donna confessed somewhat ruefully, _"But then see all the stuff that Eric has to put up with Laurie...oops...sorry, Jackie..." _The tall redhead apologized, _"I didn't mean to bring up bad memories..."

"Don't worry about it, Donna..." _Jackie replied magnanimously, _"All that's in the past. Now that me and Michael are back together again, nothing is going to tear us apart. We're going to be together forever."

"Yeah...right..." _Donna responded, rolling her eyes, _"You just hold on to that thought."

_Flash!_

Her eyes fluttering as she awoke, the major sighed and exhaled rapidly as Doctor Frazier rushed to her bedside.

"It's all right." The doctor said in a comforting voice as she gently settled her injured patient back in bed. "Bad dream, Jackie?"

"Maybe...I don't know..." Major Jackie Burckhardt responded, " Some images...I remember...from my past. The others though...colors and shapes..."

"Probably lingering aftereffects from your time in the sarcophagus a few years ago." Doctor Frazier surmised as she made a few notes in her patient's chart. I'm going to recommend that you see Doctor Edwards again for few sessions."

"So...I'm back to being Ms. Psycho, huh?" Jackie quipped, flashing a brief, shaky smile.

"No. Not at all." Doctor Frazier responded in an assuring tone. "They're probably just ghost images. What you're going through is not at all uncommon with others who have had lengthy experiences in Goaul'd sarcophagi." Shaking her head, the doctor declared, "Those sarcophagi are capable of preserving and even taking years off your life, but the price..."

"Yeah." Jackie agreed, nodding her head, "Way too high."

Smiling down at her patient, Dr. Frasier declared as she made some notes on her tablet, "Otherwise, Jackie...you're ready to be discharged. I'm putting you on limited duty status for a few days until you've seen Doctor Edwards and we'll go on from there."

"What about my men?" Jackie then asked.

"Sergeant Rodriguez'll be here for another day or two and then same for him—limited duty for a couple of days. The others are just fine." Doctor Frazier then put on a look of mock sternness. "Now...as for you. You've got the rest of the night here and then I want you out of my infirmary. Go home, get some rest, then on Monday, you'll be cleared for full duty."

"Thanks Doc." Jackie grinned as she slipped back into bed and quickly fell asleep.

Following Doctor Frasier's orders, Jackie returned to her Colorado Springs apartment and, after slipping into comfortable sweats, sank into her couch as she turned on the TV. As she drifted into a state of half-sleep, images once again raced through her mind with one vision in particular stood out over all the others.

_Raising her right hand in a signal to halt, Jackie, her M-16 cradled in her arms, entered the chamber. Gasping, she saw _ _Eric, Donna, a strange little girl whom she didn't recognize, Laurie, Stephen, Fez, and Michael all enclosed in glass cocoons, a blue viscous semi-gaseous fluid slowly filling each of the tubes imprisoning them, slowly consuming them as it did so_.

Gasping, Jackie shot up out of the couch. Quickly picking up the phone and hitting the speed dial, Jackie sighed in relief as she heard the familiar voice on the other end..

"Hello?"

"Hey Donna..." Jackie stammered, "It's me...Jackie..."

"Jackie?" A surprised Donna exclaimed, "How are you doing? How's Colorado? Is something wrong?"

"I'm ok..." Jackie replied quickly and then asked, "How's everything your way? How are Eric and the others?"

"Eric's fine." A mystified Donna responded. "He's still teaching high school but looking forward to retirement soon." Then, after a moment's pause, she continued tentatively, "Kitty's not doing so well...We put her in hospice care last week. The doctors think she's only got a few more weeks—a month at the most."

"I'm sorry." Jackie whispered as she heard the bad news.

"Yeah. Her memory's mostly gone now because of the Alzheimer's—every now and again she'll recognize Eric or me, but that's it. Hyde came in to visit her a couple days ago and she didn't even recognize him. Ever since Red and Dad passed on..." Donna choked back a sob and then continued, "Anyway, I'm trying to round up as much of the old gang as possible so that she can...well...you know. I contacted Michael and Hyde, and even managed to get Joanne, but I'm having problems with Fez. For some reason or other, Homeland Security has him on a watch list..."

Shaking her head, Jackie quickly responded, "I'll see what I can do. I can't guarantee anything." She cautioned, "But I know people who know people and I think they can swing it where he can get a visa to come into the country. Also, I've got more than a few days leave banked, so give me a few days to clear everything with the brass and I'll be there."

"That's great!" Donna exclaimed. "I'll see you in a few days."

"Great! Tell Eric I said Hi and to behave himself."

"Will do. Bye!"

Hanging up the phone, Jackie glanced at the clock on the wall. "Time to get ready for work." She said to no one in particular as she made her way to the bathroom for her ritual morning shower. "First...see how the team's doing..." she remarked to herself as she planned out her day, "And then my appointment with Doc Edwards followed by lunch with Daniel and then a meeting with General O'Neill." Turning on her shower, the petite major paused for a moment as she tried to figure out why the general would want to see her. Top secret mission? Possible...but not likely. Generally SG-1 got the juicy assignments. Butt chewing? Better not be. Jackie frowned as she replayed the events of the last mission in her mind. That mission was FUBARed from the beginning. If the higher-ups try to pin this on my team...Gritting her teeth, Jackie grumbled as she stepped into the shower, "Well...whatever it's about, I'll find out soon enough."

"So...how's your day been so far, Jackie?"

Smiling as she regarded the man sitting across from her, Jackie replied, "Not bad, Daniel. Team's recovering nicely and my session with Doc Edwards seemed to have gone ok. He only 'Hmmmmed' twice during the entire interview. What about you? How're you holding up?"

"Same old...same old." Doctor Daniel Jackson, answered back, flashing a boyish grin. "I've been keeping busy with some old manuscripts we found on our last mission."

"What about Sam?" Jackie inquired, "She still at that conference?"

"Yeah." Daniel nodded his head. "She's due back tomorrow and then I think we're heading back out. What about you?"

"Don't know." Jackie answered back. "Depends on what the Old Man says."

"Don't worry about Jack." Daniel chuckled. "His bark is worse than his bite. He knows what happened out there wasn't your fault. Stuff happens—you know that. So...what have you got planned? SG-4 going out again?"

"Not right away." Jackie replied as she finished her iced tea. "Rodriguez is still on limited duty." Sighing, she remarked in a wistful tone, "I'm hoping the general will let me take some leave."

"Everything ok back at home?" Daniel asked as a look of concern crossed his features. " I remember you telling me about your friend's mother—that she's in the advanced stages of Alzheimer's."

"Yeah." Jackie sighed as she nodded her head. "Donna says that Kitty doesn't have much longer. I'm hoping to be able to see her."

"Don't worry, Jackie." Daniel replied with a warm smile, "Unless there's something urgent, I'm sure Jack'll let you go. Family's very important to him."

"Thanks, Daniel. Well..." She remarked as she glanced at the clock on the wall, "I better get going or the General really will have something to yell about."

"Yeah...you don't want to keep him waiting." Dr. Jackson laughed. "I'll see you later."

Entering the General's office, Major Burckhardt came to attention and saluted. "Sir?"

"At ease, Major." General Jack O'Neill responded as he returned Jackie's salute. "How are you and your team feeling?"

"Fine, Sir." Jackie responded.

"Good." The general exclaimed as he pulled a pair of envelopes, one large and one small, from a desk drawer. "Have a seat, Major." General O'Neill requested.

"Thank you, Sir." Jackie responded as she sat down.

"First..." The general said, "You're not here for a butt chewing. What happened on PX-395 was not your fault—or your team's fault. Understand?" Taking the dark-haired major's head nod as an affirmative, Jack continued, "You got yourself and your people out in one piece and you provided some valuable intel on Khepri and Eris. Even though we've beaten most of the System Lords, those two and others like them have been pains in our backside for too long."

"Yes, Sir."

"I also know it's personal between you and Eris...I know what she did to you and that there's nothing you'd like more than to get some payback. Believe me...I know exactly what you're going through." General O'Neill remarked sympathetically as he remembered his confrontations with Apophis and a few other System Lords. "But you kept your head. You did a good job keeping your cool out there."

"Thank you, Sir."

"So..." General O'Neill exclaimed as he rose to his feet, "Unless there's something else..."

"There is, Sir." Jackie responded. Taking the general's slight nod of his head as a signal to continue, the major began hesitatingly, "Sir...I was wondering. Doc Frasier still wants to keep my team on limited duty status for at least another week and...well...I've got several weeks worth of leave accumulated...and...I don't know if you've heard...but my best friend's mother isn't doing too well...she doesn't have much longer."

"And you want to see her." Jack finished, nodding his head approvingly. "Of course, you can go. But...before you take you take off..." The general requested, "Could you do a quick favor for us? We're testing a variation on the Asgard transporter..." General O'Neill explained and then, seeing the skeptical look on the younger officer's face, he quickly added, "It's safe, Major. I promise your atoms won't be scattered all over the place. It's also part of the favor. I need someone to attend a Top-Secret conference at Davis-Monthan Air Base dealing with possible counters to Anubis' super-warriors." Exhaling deeply, Jack confided, "Those mothers are murdering us. Colonel Carter's come up with some ideas, but she's still at that conference in Juneau..."

"Yeah...Doctor Jackson was telling me about that." Jackie replied, "Of course, I'll do it, Sir."

"Great!" General O'Neill exclaimed. "Thor will transport you up to his ship in...three hours...that should give you enough time to get changed out of those BDU's and into your Class-As. You also might want to carry a second uniform with you. The conference will take a couple of days and then you're free to go on leave. Here..." He said as he handed the two envelopes in his hand to Jackie. "Open the smaller one once you beam down to the surface—it'll have further instructions for you."

Looking down at the envelopes, Jackie saw that they were both marked, 'Top-Secret'.

"That's right, Major." The general's smile was now gone. "Don't open them until you're supposed to. That's a direct order."

"Yes, Sir." A confused Jackie responded as she clutched the envelopes in her hand.

"You'll understand when you get there, Major." General O'Neill declared in a fatherly voice. Dismissed, Major. Go and get packed."

Once he was sure that Major Burckhardt had left the Gate Room, General O'Neill pressed a button. A few moments later, both Daniel Jackson and Colonel Samantha Carter entered the office. "Well...here we go again." Jack sighed as he motioned for his two friends and former teammates to sit down. "Hopefully this time she'll be able to break the time loop."

"The last time helped a lot, Sir." Dr. Jackson replied, "We were able to pin down the disturbance as emanating from Point Place. But...do you think she'll be able to deal with it?"

"Doctor Frasier believes that her memories of what happened during that time are beginning to resurface." Colonel Carter stated, "Janice thinks that her time in the sarcophagus while Eris was torturing her began to break down the walls that she'd built in her mind. Her latest experience seems to have broken those walls down even more. Hopefully, this time she'll be able to put all the pieces together."

"She's the only one who can get this job done." Jack declared. "She was there at the time. It has to be her. She'll do it."

"I hope so, Sir." Samantha interjected, "We don't know how many more chances we're going to get with these time loops."

"Well..." Jack exclaimed as he picked up his cap, "It's all on her now."

Returning to her apartment, Jackie quickly changed into her Air Force blues and then packed her gear, slipping an extra uniform into its traveling case. "Let's see...spare uniform, I-Pad, I-Phone...check." She remarked as she slipped the tablet and smartphone into her purse. "That should do it." As she finished packing, she heard her doorbell ring. Seeing Doctor Frasier through the peephole, Jackie smiled as she opened the door. "Hi Doc! Come to see me off?"

"I was on my way to pick up Cassandra from school." The doctor explained, "And I figured I'd stop over to see how you were doing and to say goodbye. So...how long you going to be gone?"

"A couple of weeks." Jackie replied as she noticed the doctor's attention directed to the photographs hanging over the fireplace. "The old gang." Jackie said with a warm smile as she placed names with pictures. The balding man is Red." Laughing, she remarked, "Always ready to give you a foot in the ass or a hug."

Laughing, Doc Frasier asked as she pointed to the stout man wearing an Afro standing next to Red, "Who's he."

"That's Bob. Donna's father." Jackie laughed. "That man told the worst jokes and did the worst Tom Jone's impression. He took our picture when Kitty and Red pinned my lieutenant's bars on me..."

_U.S. Air Force Academy—the past._

"Here she comes! You got the camera, Bob?"

"Right here, Red." _Bob Pinciotti replied, flashing a big grin as he held up the 35mm camera in his hand._

" Make sure you take a good picture." _Red commanded, "_ Ready, Kitty?"_ He asked, turning to his wife._

"Sure am!" _A bubbly Kitty Forman answered back._

_As the newly graduated cadet approached, the Forman patriarch's smile grew even brighter._ "Congratulations, Jackie, you made it! But...there's a problem." _His face taking on a stern expression, he declared in a gruff voice as he regarded the young woman wearing her Air Force blue uniform, _"You're out of uniform. We've got to do something about that." _His severe expression then took on a smile_ _as he opened a small jewelry case_ _to reveal a pair of gold second lieutenant's bars, _ "Kitty?"

_Smiling, Kitty took one of the bars as Red took the other, then, the pair took their places on either side of the young officer, pinning the gold bars to her shoulders while Bob took their picture._

_Stepping back as Bob handed the camera back to Kitty as Red carried out a flawless about-face. Then both ex-servicemen, simultaneously, came to attention and raised their right arms to their foreheads, giving the lieutenant her first salute as a commissioned officer._

_Tears rolling down her cheeks, Jackie snapped to attention and returned the men's salute with a crisp salute of her own and then after completing the military ritual, she rushed into Kitty's arms._

"We're so proud of you, Jackie!" _Kitty sobbed as the two women hugged._

And that's..." Jackie said, choking back a sob, "Kitty..."

"She's the one..."

"Yeah." Jackie nodded her head. "She was always there for us when we needed a kind word or a shoulder to cry on."

"Who are the others?"

"The dark haired guy's Fez." Jackie said, her lips turning up into a fond smile. "We roomed together for a while before I went to the Academy. Even dated for a bit—but it didn't work out." She shook her head as her lips turned up in a warm smile, "He was funny and sweet and well...a really great guy..." She confessed, "It's just that...I wasn't ready. Just like I wasn't ready with the others. The other guy, the younger guy with the 'Fro...that's Hyde. We...were an item for a while too—before Fez. Almost got married until we both screwed it up." Laughing, she jibed, "As you can see, I don't have much luck with love."

"It'll happen, Jackie." Doctor Frazier commiserated.

"It's all right." Jackie remarked with chuckle, "It doesn't bother me now. Anyway..." She sighed, Hyde didn't care too much for my decision to join the Air Force. We haven't talked much since."

_Forman House: 1980_

_Letter in hand and broad grin on her face, Jackie dashed into the Forman's living room where Red, Hyde, Kelso, and Bob were watching the football game. _"I did it!" _Jackie squealed with delight as she held the letter up._ "I got in!"

"Got in where?" _Kelso replied with a boyish grin, _"Playboy?"

"Yeah." _Hyde snorted, _"She's the next Miss January."

Just then, a cheer sounded from the television as Red grumbled, "Dammit, you made me miss the Packers scoring a touchdown. Probably be the only one they score in the game too." Turning his full attention to Jackie, the Forman patriarch growled, "What did you do, now?"

"I got in!" _Jackie repeated, her enthusiasm undimmed as she handed Red the letter. _"I got this a few minutes ago."

_His eyes immediately catching the Air Force crest on the letterhead, Red carefully read the letter, his eyes growing wider. _"Well, I'll be..." A note of both surprise and pride began to creep into the older man's voice. "How long have you been planning this? I didn't even know..."

"No one did."_ Jackie replied, the smile still plastered on her face. "I didn't want anyone else to know..."_

"Know what?"_ Bob interjected as he eyed the letter curiously. Taking Jackie's nod of her head as assent, Red passed the letter on to Bob who then read it, his eyes also widening in surprise. _"Well, I'll be a monkey's..."

"We already know you are, Bob." _Red jibed. _"Now let the other dumbasses read it."

_As Kelso read the letter, he remarked cluelessly, _"I don't understand..."

"Nothing new there."_ Red grumbled as Hyde took the note._

_As he read the letter, a strange expression overtook the rebellious Hyde. _"How could you do something so stupid, Jackie? How could you sell yourself out like that?"

"Hey!" _Red growled as he moved protectively towards Jackie. _

"It's my choice, Stephen!"_ Jackie declared defensively_.

"And it's a good choice." _Red stated as he placed himself between Hyde and a defiant Jackie. Addressing the young men in the room, he growled_, "At least she's decided to do something with her life!" _Turning to Jackie, his lips turned up into a warm smile_, "Did you tell your parents?"

"I told my Mom." _Jackie replied, shaking her head, _"She was into her third martini and eyeing the pool boy. I don't think my news even registered with her. As for Dad...he's...out of town trying to get back on his feet after being paroled. I haven't been able to reach him yet."

"Well..." _Red said consolingly as he placed a paternal hand on Jackie's shoulder, _"If there's anything Kitty and I can do for you, just let us know."

"We're going to miss you, Jackie." _Kelso said adding, _"What about Fez?"

"Yeah..." _Jackie replied, nodding her head once, _"I'm going to have to find some way to tell him." _Turning her gaze toward Hyde, Jackie gave him a pleading look, _"Are we ok?"

"I don't know." _Stephen grumbled as he left the room._

"He'll get over it." _Kelso consoled, _"I think it's neat. So..." _He asked with a goofy grin on his face, _"They gonna let you fly a jet?"

"I don't know." _Jackie laughed_, "We'll see."

"Well..." Doc Frasier said consolingly, "He still must have had some warm feelings for you since he showed up for your graduation.

"Maybe." Jackie conceded, "Doesn't matter though. That was a long time ago. We both made our choices."

"The couple in this picture must be Eric and Donna." Doctor Frasier surmised , quickly changing the subject. "They look good together."

"Yeah." Jackie chuckled, "Those two broke up and got back together so often that we ended up keeping a running pool going as to when they would break up and then make up."

"Did you win?"

"A couple of times." Jackie grinned, "So did Red."

"So...who's the other one. The guy with the..."

"Doofy grin?" Jackie chuckled. "That's Kelso. He's a long story for another time."

"Understood." Doc Frasier responded and then inquired, "So...what happened to everyone?"

"Well..." Jackie sighed, "You know about Kitty.. Red left us a decade ago. His heart finally gave out on him. Bob went next—prostate cancer took him away at almost the same time that Midge, his first and last wife, went from breast cancer. Eric and Donna are still living in Point Place and Kelso's in Chicago with his wife—I can't believe they're still married. Fez...well...I'm working on getting him here to see Kitty and as for Hyde..." Jackie simply shook her head. "Donna said that he came by to see Kitty, but I have no idea what he's doing now.

Looking at her watch, Doc Frasier said her goodbyes, "Well...I better get going now. Thor's supposed to be picking you up anytime now and I've got to pick up Cassie. Take care and let me know how things go."

"Will do." Jackie smiled back as she felt the faint electrical charge that indicated that the Asgard had begun their transport sequence. "Looks like my ride's here." She exclaimed as she took a deep breath and exhaled before saying a silent prayer as the blue beam took her and her belongings.

Rematerializing on the Asgard ship, Jackie couldn't help but gasp as she gazed down on its diminutive grey commander. While she had seen Thor a couple of times at Stargate Command, she had never interacted with him. Somewhat hesitatingly, she stammered, "Hello, Thor..."

"Greetings, Major Burckhardt." The alien answered back. "We will be ready to transport you back down to the surface in one Earth minute."

"That's quick." Jackie remarked as the little gray alien seemed to ignore her.

"We have reached our destination." The Asgard Supreme Commander declared. "Prepare for transport."

"Bye..." Jackie uttered as she suddenly found herself on a sidewalk. Looking around, Jackie shook her head, muttering. "I think you messed up your coordinates, Thor. This isn't Davis-Monthan." Clutching her skirt as what looked, much to Jackie's surprise, to be a mint condition late 70s Pontiac Trans-Am whizzed by her, Jackie, after muttering a string of curses at the driver, remarked to herself, "Damn. Whoever owns that car did a good job restoring it. It looks almost brand new."

Her eyes following the Trans-Am as it turned into a parking lot, Jackie's mouth opened wide as she gasped in disbelief, "No! That's impossible! The Hub! It was torn down in the late 80s. There's a Starbucks there now." Feeling the envelopes in her hands, Jackie remembered what General O'Neill had told her. Opening the first envelope, she read the note enclosed inside.

_Major Burckhardt, here's the situation in a nutshell. You are indeed in Point Place in the year 1978. Somehow or other we've been caught in a time loop. Colonel Carter thinks that it might be due to the Asgard transport beam that we've been testing interacting with whatever was happening during that time. Doctor Frasier thinks that a lot of your bad dreams might come from this disturbance as well. We need you to find out what's going on and deal with it. We'll try to help you out anyway we can from our end here, but you've got point on this. In the big envelope you'll find proper identification, money, credit cards, and anything else we can think of to help you out. Yes, Major...the credit cards do come with a limit, so don't blow them on one of your legendary shopping sprees._

_Good luck,_

_General Jack O'Neill_

Opening the big envelope, Jackie nodded her head in satisfaction as she spied the 70s era military ID, drivers' license, money, and Visa and Mastercard. Putting the items in her purse, the major waited for what seemed like a lifetime as she pondered her situation. Finally, almost as if she was drawn by some mystical force, Jackie, after adjusting her cap, walked towards her old hangout. Reaching the entrance, she paused as she heard the voices inside. Her heart racing, Major Jackie Burckhardt took a deep breath as she opened the door to her past.


	2. Chapter 2

THAT 70S GATE CHAPTER 2

Before opening the door, Jackie hesitated and took a deep breath. Here we go!" she muttered to herself as she opened the door and entered her old hangout. Her senses assailed by all the sights and sounds, it took the major several seconds to adjust to her new/old surroundings.

"Move it or lose it!" A voice behind her grumbled. Quickly turning about, Jackie confronted a heavy set teenager wearing a JROTC uniform and sergeant' s stripes on his shoulders. _Moose Johnson_. Immediately recognizing the boy as the same kid who once shoved Fez in a locker, Major Burkhardt stared into the JROTC cadet's eyes.

"Do you know what those are?" She barked, pointing to the gold oak leaves on her shoulders. "Or have your instructors not covered rank insignia in class yet, _Sergeant_?"

"No, Ma'am...I mean, yes, Ma'am...Major..." The poor cadet stammered as Jackie's eyes bored into his.

"Quit slouching and come to attention." Jackie commanded as she inspected the cadet. "Your shirt's wrinkled, your shoes aren't shined and neither is that belt buckle and what are you doing wearing your cover inside a mess hall?" As the hapless Johnson lifted his hand to remove his garrison cap from the top of his head, Jackie snapped, "You're still at attention, Sergeant! Did I tell you that you could move?"

Shaking her head, Jackie decided that she'd had enough fun toying with her prey. "You're a mess, Sergeant. Now get back to your classroom and fix yourself up and pray I don't decide to report you to your instructors. Move it!"

Smirking as Moose practically ran out the door, Jackie remarked to herself, "Burckhardt, you're still the biggest beeyotch on the block when you wanna be."

Her smile then turned into a wordless gasp as she saw Donna and Kitty sitting at one of the tables in the far back, both eating their burgers and fries while talking to each other. Feeling a rumbling in her stomach, the major forced herself into motion, her eyes wandering to the two women as she approached the order window.

"Good for you, Major." The fry cook taking orders chuckled, "You sure gave Moose what he had coming to him. What can I get you—on the house."

"Wha..." Jackie, her reverie broken, reluctantly turned her attention back to the fry cook taking her order.

"I said, what'll ya have, Ma'am?"

"Oh...Ummm...I guess I'll have the usual. I mean I'll have a burger and fries with a diet soda."

"Here you go." The fry cook said a few minutes later as he shoved Jackie's order on to the counter. Glancing down at her, he spied her name tag, "Burckhardt? Any relation to the Burckhardt kid?"

"My cousin." Jackie responded, thinking fast.

"Yeah...you two do resemble each other, I guess." The man noted before advising in a friendly tone, "Better grab yourself a seat while you still can."

"Why?" Jackie asked.

"In a couple of minutes this place is gonna be overrun by hungry teenagers." Just then, the door opened to reveal a crowd of hungry and restless high school students, grabbing tables and forming a line behind the petite major. "See what I mean?"

"Yeah...I guess I do." Jackie laughed as she picked up her order. "Thanks."

Taking a deep breath, Jackie made her way to the unoccupied table next to where Donna and Kitty were eating and talking animatedly, so engrossed in their own conversation that they didn't even notice the Air Force officer sitting next to them. Jackie inwardly breathed a sigh of relief as she sat down and, after placing her cap on the table, took a sip from her Tab. Quietly eating her meal, she pretended not to listen to the pair's conversation.

"So...Casey Kelso?" Kitty teasingly inquired with a nervous chuckle

"Yeah, I can't believe it either!" Donna laughed in response. "Me...dating a Kelso!"

Her smile disappearing, a maternal Kitty asked, "Are you sure? You know the Kelsos don't exactly have the best track record."

_Tell me about it. _Jackie thought to herself as she munched on her cheeseburger.

"I know." A suddenly serious Donna responded, "But he makes me laugh and I kinda need that right now."

"I guess I see what you mean." Kitty replied, "I just don't want to see you hurt, Dear. And you know what those Kelsos are like?"

Her lips turning up into a warm smile, the tall redhead chuckled. "Don't worry, Mrs. Foreman, I can take care of myself. Casey's not going to hurt me."

"Don't be so sure of that, Donna," Jackie muttered softly to herself as she daubed her lips with a napkin, accidently knocking her combination cap off the table in the process.

"I know darling." Kitty replied, "But you're always going to be like a little girl to me."

"Awww...that's sweet, Mrs. Foreman." Donna exclaimed, and then, hearing the chair next to her scrape the floor and spotting the Air Force cap on the ground, remarked as she leaned down. "I'll get it for you, Ma'am."

Both pairs of eyes locked on to each other simultaneously as Donna's fingers touched the blue cap. "Wha...you look just like..." Donna gasped.

Kitty, her attention suddenly drawn by Donna's exclamation of surprise, quickly looked up from her meal. "I don't believe it. You could be..."

"Excuse me?" A suddenly flustered Jackie quickly exclaimed as she grabbed the cap from Donna's fingers.

"I'm sorry." Donna quickly apologized. Then, looking down at the Air Force officer's name tag, the redhead couldn't help but inquire, "It's just that...you look so much like

"You wouldn't happen to be related to Jackie Burckhardt, would you?" A surprised Kitty interjected.

"Yes." Jackie affirmed, thinking to herself, _Well, in a manner of speaking I am related—so it's not as if I'm really lying_. "She's my cousin—distant cousin. We even have the same name." She remarked as, standing up, she held out her hand in greeting, "Major Jackie Burckhardt, US Air Force."

Her eyes still focused on the newcomer, Kitty invited, "Why don't you pull up a chair and join us, Major?"

"You sure?" Jackie asked, "I don't want to intrude."

"You're not intruding." Kitty exclaimed with a big grin, "We'd love the company! Right, Donna?"

"Yeah." Donna replied as her eyes also appraised the new arrival. "Please sit down with us."

"Ok." Jackie said as she moved her food over to the other table. "Thanks."

"So...you're here to see your cousin..." Kitty gently probed as Jackie settled down in her chair.

"Yeah." The major carefully responded. "I have some leave time accumulated and it seemed like a good idea."

"Well isn't that nice." Kitty exclaimed with a warm grin. "How long are you going to be in town?"

"Not long." Jackie replied, "A few days or so at most—then it's back to work."

"So, where are you stationed?" Donna probed.

"Cheyenne Mountain." Jackie answered back with a smile, seeing no harm in revealing the half-truth.

"NORAD?" Donna further inquired, "I did a paper on MAD with my ex-boyfriend last year...I wish you were around then so that I could have talked to you about it. So...what do you do there?"

"Deep space radar telemetry." Jackie responded, using the standard cover story.

Shaking her head, Kitty changed the subject, "I just can't believe how close you resemble our Jackie. One would swear that you were her older sister..."

"Or a future version of her." Donna added with a chuckle.

Laughing nervously, Jackie responded, "Yeah...that would be a kick in the teeth, wouldn't it."

"Sure would." Donna laughed before continuing, "No offense, Major, but there's no way I could ever see your cousin in any sort of uniform other than a cheerleader's."

"I did some cheerleading when I was younger." Jackie laughed. Anyway, you never know where you're going to end up in life. Who knows...you could end up getting back with your old boyfriend, getting married, and having a couple of kids..."

"Yeah, right." Donna laughed in amusement. "Tell you what...I'll make a bet with you. If your cousin ends up in the military—any branch—I'll marry Eric and have two point five kids and live with him in a two car garage in the suburbs."

"Deal." Jackie responded with a knowing grin as she extended her hand to seal the wager. "But I'll settle for just two kids—that point five would be awfully messy."

"So...where are you staying?" Kitty asked. "The Burckhardts are both gone."

"Yeah." Donna agreed, "Jackie's staying at my house for a few days while Mr. Burckhardt's on some business trip or other and Mrs. Burckhardt's..."

"In Cancun." Kitty finished her lips curling in a brief disapproving sneer.

Heaving a dejected sigh, Jackie replied, "I guess I'll get a room at the motel. I recall seeing a vacancy sign on my way over.

"No." Kitty declared, shaking her head, "I can't let you stay in that roach motel." Her lips turning up into a bright smile, she then offered, "Why don't stay with us? You can stay in Laurie's room..."

"What about Red?" Donna inquired.

"Oh...I don't think he'll mind once he finds out Jackie's in the armed forces." Leaning over, she whispered conspiratorially, "He'll probably bore you with all his war stories."

Remembering with fondness Red's stories that he told her once she got her commission, Jackie smiled warmly, "I wouldn't want to impose on you..."

"You're not imposing!" Kitty declared, "I insist." Glancing at the remnants of everyone's meal, Kitty smiled, "Looks like we're all done here so let's go and get you settled in. Then we'll head over to the mall to meet your cousin."

"She should still be at the cheese shop." Donna remarked, further clarifying, "Jackie had to get a job working there after her father cut her off for dating Kelso.

As the three women made their way towards the door, Kitty remarked, almost as an afterthought, "I wonder where Eric is...he was supposed to meet us."

Having a very good idea where her former boyfriend was, a Donna replied with a snort, "I think I know where he is, Mrs. Forman." Seeing the Air Force officer rolling her eyes in an oddly familiar gesture, Donna barely repressed the urge to do a double-take. "We better get going." She said as she quickly recovered, "We don't want to keep the boys waiting."

"And then what, Kelso?" Fez asked as he swiped a handful of potato chips from the bag in Eric's hands.

"Yeah, Kelso..." Hyde encouraged with a knowing smirk, "Tell us more!"

"Well...Pam Macy an' I were at Mount Hump..." Michael Kelso said as he began to recount his story for the umpteenth time, "But..."

"You're cheating on Jackie again!" Fez exclaimed, the tone in his voice reflecting both disgust and admiration for his womanizing friend.

"I wasn't cheating on Jackie!" Kelso protested through the haze of the Circle, "All we did was make out—we didn't 'Do It' or anything like that! So..." Kelso concluded, "...because we didn't Do It, I didn't cheat on her."

Shaking his head, Hyde teased, "But I thought you said she never showed up. So...what happened?"

"I was getting to that!" Michael retorted.

"Ok..." Eric chuckled, "So what happened next."

"I told you!" Kelso replied, "There was this old woman with four..."

"Rejects from a Hercules movie." Hyde laughed sarcastically, "Who appeared inside a bunch of rings."

"Yeah." Kelso exclaimed, "And then she looked at me and Pam and said something weird and then...I don't remember. Pam was gone and I was lying down on the ground. When I saw Pam at school the next morning and asked her what happened, she got this weird look on her face and told me to get lost."

"Ha!" Hyde laughed, the others soon joining in, "She told me later on what happened—that you couldn't..."

"Get the job done." Eric finished with a smirk.

"That's not true!" Kelso protested, raising his voice. "Yeah...I had that problem...but I got over it when me and Jackie got back together..."

"Riiiight..." Stephen drawled as he took a sip from the beer that he had pilfered earlier from the Forman's fridge. "You just go on believing that Kelso."

As Kitty's car pulled into the Forman's driveway, a wave of nostalgia passed over Jackie as her eyes fell on the old Vista Cruiser. Her lips turned up into a warm smile as she remembered all the good times she had inside that car.

"_Dirty...dirty...dirty! Dirty...Dirty...Dirty..._

"_Donna...you have to believe me, I have no idea whose panties those are!"_

"_Those are my panties!"_

"What's so funny?" Donna inquired as she saw the Air Force officer sitting in the front seat next to Kitty laughing.

"Oh...it was nothing." Jackie lied as she stifled a laugh, "Just an old joke someone at work told me a while back..."

"Well...here we are." Kitty announced as she cut off the ignition to the Toyota. Getting out of the car first, Mrs. Forman called out as she opened the trunk, "Red! Come on out—we've got company!"

Coming from the garage, the three women heard a loud yelp followed by a "Dammit, Bob!" and then a string of curses ending with, "Dumbass!"

"Oh boy!" Kitty sighed as her husband stormed out of the garage holding his thumb wrapped up in a towel followed by a sheepish looking Bob Pinciotti carrying a hammer in his hand. "What happened, Red?"

"Bob hit me in on the thumb with that hammer! What do you think happened, Kitty?" Red stormed as Bob shuffled his feet while looking down. Turning his attention back to the frizzy haired Bob, Red spat out, "I ought to stick my foot up your...!"

"Here...let me see it, Red." Kitty commanded as she took her husband's hand in hers and unwrapped the towel. Inspecting the thumb, the experienced nurse declared in a motherly voice, "Yup...it's swollen all right. Nothing serious though. I'll spray it with some Bactine and wrap it up after I introduce you to our new houseguest."

"Houseguest?" A suspicious Red exclaimed, arching his eyebrows. "Not another kid, Kitty?"

"This is Major Burckhardt. Major Jackie Burckhardt, from the Air Force. She's our Jackie's cousin. She even has her name!" Kitty replied with a nervous laugh as she motioned for Jackie to step up. "She'll be staying in Laurie's room for a few days, since Pam and Jack are away." Kitty declared, not giving her husband the option of refusing.

"You decided to let her stay at the Forman Hotel." Red finished with a sarcastic sneer. Glancing at Jackie, the older Forman's heart skipped a beat as he immediately saw how closely she resembled the teenage girl who frequented his basement with the others. Giving her a careful appraisal, the retired navy man's eyebrows raised again as he spotted first the silver pilot's wings on her chest and then the ribbons below the wings.

"Impressive fruit salad." Red remarked as he recognized the ribbons for the Purple Heart and Silver Star. Red then looked straight at Jackie, his eyes doing all the talking for him. _Did you earn those medals?_

Jackie simply matched the older man's gaze, her eyes also doing all the talking, _What do you think?_

Satisfied, Red nodded his head, "All right. Don't worry about your stuff, Major. I'll get my boy to move it in."

"Speaking of Eric," Kitty inquired, "Where is he? He was supposed to meet us at the Hub."

"The Head Dumbass is with the other Dumbasses in Dumbass Central." Red replied, "I'll get him."

"No...that's ok, Mr. Forman." Donna quickly interrupted, "I'll get him. That'll give you a chance to get to know the major." The tall redhead then quickly took off for the basement before anyone could protest, leaving an amused Jackie with the Formans and Donna's father.

"So...you're Jackie's cousin?" Bob asked as Kitty administered first aid to her husband.

"Yep." Jackie replied through gritted teeth, resigning herself to the boring conversation she knew was to come.

Breezing into the basement, Donna fanned the smoky, acrid haze away from her as she exclaimed to the bleary eyed boys seated around the old coffee table. "You guys will never believe who's standing in the driveway right now!"

"Led Zeppelin." Hyde sarcastically remarked.

"Princess Leia." An equally mocking Eric chimed in.

"Big Rhonda!" Kelso laughed as Hyde punched him in the forearm.

"No!" Donna huffed, "It's Jackie's cousin from the Air Force. And guess what—her name's Jackie too!"

Seeing a chance to enjoy a good burn and yet again make a fool out of Kelso, Hyde prompted, "This is your chance, Kelso. You know the Air Force investigates UFOs and all that. Why don't you tell her about what you saw?"

"Yeah!" Kelso agreed with a goofy grin on his face as he rose to his feet, "Let's go!"

"That must be her." Eric observed as the group emerged from the basement and made their way to the driveway where they saw a woman about Jackie's height wearing a blue Air Force uniform with gold oak leaves on the shoulders. Taking a deep breath, Eric called out, "Mom? Dad?"

"Son!" Red commanded, motioning with his hand for Eric to come forward. "I want you to meet Major Burckhardt."

As the petite Air Force officer turned around to reveal her facial features, the jaws of all the boys—Eric's, Hyde's, Fez's, and Kelso's—dropped.

"I don't believe it." Eric gasped as he immediately noticed the close resemblance between the major and the Jackie they all knew."

"No..." Kelso shook his head in disbelief, "Can't be..."

"They could be..." Fez began.

"Sisters." Hyde finished.

"Eric! Get over here before I put my foot up your ass!"

Shaken out of his stupor by his father's threat, Eric rushed forward. "Yeah, Dad?"

"I want you to take the major's things to Laurie's room. She'll be staying with us for a few days."

"Ok, Dad." The younger Forman responded as he picked up Jackie's suitcases and bags.

Watching as her old friend departed with her gear, Jackie laughed as she whispered in a voice that only Red could hear, "Nothing like the threat of a foot-assisted take-off to get a guy motivated."

Laughing, Red decided immediately that he liked this officer, "I've always found it worked for me."

"Ummm...Major..."

Turning about, Jackie's heart skipped a beat as she immediately recognized the stupid grin on the face of her old high school lover. Stopping herself from calling him by his name, Jackie responded with a simple, "Yes."

"Go ahead, man!" Hyde prompted with an elbow to his friend's side, "Tell her."

"All right! I will! Give me a moment!" Kelso retorted before recounting the story he had told the guys earlier in the basement.

As she listened to Michael's tale, a dark cloud briefly crossed Jackie's features when he stumbled over the part about his rendezvous with Pam Macy. _So that's where he was! I always wondered what the cretin was doing then._ Then, when he recalled how the older woman with her guards had suddenly appeared in the middle of a set of rings, Jackie's blood ran cold as she immediately recognized what her old boyfriend had seen.

_Eris. She's here._


	3. Chapter 3

_First off, again, my apologies for the LOOOONG break between updates, but as I mentioned earlier, health and other concerns kept me from writing. I'm going to try to be better about updating. I've also rewritten the earlier chapters—cleaned up a lot of errors and added quite a bit of stuff, so you might want to go back and read them again. Thanks again for your patience and I hope this was worth the wait._

THAT 70S GATE CHAPTER THREE

"Go away, Kelso." Red growled as he jerked his thumb back. Turning to his guest, Red smiled. "I'll show you to your room, Major. Eric?" Red then commanded, "Do something useful for a change. Get the Major's bags and follow us."

Sighing inwardly at Red's normally harsh treatment towards the lanky teenager, Jackie smiled, "Thanks...Eric."

A wave of nostalgia again hit Jackie as she entered the Forman living room with its comfortable sofa, Kitty's coffee table, and Red's favorite chair positioned so that he always had the best view of the television screen. "Nice place." Jackie said, a note of soft sincerity in her voice. "It looks very homey..."

"Thanks." A pleased Kitty responded as the group began the climb up the stairs to Laurie's room. "It's not fancy or anything, but we love it...right, Red?"

"Right, Kitty." Red agreed. "So, Major...where's home for you?"

"You know how it goes." Jackie chuckled, "Home's wherever Uncle Sam sends me."

Laughing, Red nodded his head, "Yeah...I remember those days."

"Didn't you say that you were going to Colorado, Major," Kitty interjected.

"Yeah." Jackie affirmed, "Cheyenne Mountain."

On hearing that, Eric spoke up, "NORAD?"

"Yep." Jackie replied, her voice inflection and head gesture momentarily catching Donna by surprise. Seeing the questioning expression on Eric's face, Donna quickly shook her head.

"So...can you tell us what you do?"

"Deep space something or other..." Kitty interjected with a slight chuckle as the major nodded her head once.

"Radar telemetry. Whatever that is." Donna interjected as Jackie barely suppressed a chuckle.

"Wow!" Eric gasped, the Star Wars fan inside him coming out. "Is that some sort of alien thing..."

"I'm sorry..." Jackie responded with a friendly grin, "But I really can't talk about it any further."

"Then that's the end of discussion." Red declared authoritatively, shooting Kitty, Donna, and Eric a stern gaze. "I am curious though..." The WW 2 vet remarked, "...about that silver star and those purple hearts you have. Can you talk about those?"

"I'm sorry." Jackie sighed as she spoke in a soft voice. "That's another one of those things I can't talk about."

As he gazed into the young major's suddenly haunted eyes, Red, remembering similar expressions on the faces of young soldiers, sailors, and Marines as well as his own reflection in the mirror, responded in an almost uncharacteristically gentle and soft voice, "I think I understand."

"Thank you." Jackie whispered back as the tiny group entered Laurie's long-vacated bedroom.

"Well...here we are." Kitty exclaimed, deliberately injecting a cheerful note into her voice. "Eric, honey? Why don't you put the major's things by the bed."

"Sure thing, Mom." The lanky teenager replied as he placed the suitcases where his mother indicated. "If it's ok with you, Mom and Dad, I'm going to go back out."

"Thanks, hon!" Kitty replied as she gave her son a quick peck on his cheek. Turning her attention to the major, Mrs. Forman said, "We better get moving if we want to catch your cousin at the cheese shop. Besides, I need to pick up some cheddar for tonight's fondue."

"Fondue?" Red exclaimed, his facial expression a mixture of irritation and dread.

"Don't tell me you forgot, Red." An exasperated Kitty responded. "Bob and Joanne are coming over for fondue." Turning to Jackie, she added, "You're invited too, Major. "

"Oh boy..." Jackie muttered in a soft voice as she followed Kitty and Eric out of the house, while Red, deliberately hung back in a successful effort to avoid attracting attention, his attentive gaze fully on the major as the women walked away.

"There's something familiar about her..." The Forman patriarch muttered under his breath, "Something very familiar. I can't place it, but I will..."

Jackie smiled warmly as she walked down the mall flanked on either side by Donna and Kitty. The major felt yet another wave of nostalgia as her senses took in long-forgotten sights, sounds, and smells. The aroma of freshly made pretzels wafted from a pretzel shop that had closed its doors in 1992. She heard the sound of cheers and laughter along with the unmistakable boobooobooobooop sound as someone's voice drowned out the sound of the Pac Man machine coming from the arcade that had closed in '93. Smiling, Jackie saw Mitch waving his arms and cursing as he stormed away from the machine in disgust. Then, she saw it—the old cheese shop where she had once worked. In her time, that space would be occupied by a cell phone kiosk, but now, there it stood.

And there she stood. Her younger self, wearing her Swiss Miss cheese girl outfit, tray of samplers in hand as she went from customer to customer.

"Jackie?" Kitty's voice broke the older Jackie's reverie at the same time that it gained her younger self's attention. "Jackie? Come over here, Dear. There's someone I want you to meet."

Major Burckhardt flashed a warm, yet sad smile as the younger, more carefree and self-centered version of herself strode confidently forward. "Yes, Mrs. Forman?" The cheese-girl replied with a wide grin.

"Your cousin from the Air Force just got into town, Jackie." Kitty announced with a happy chuckle, "And guess what—her name's Jackie too!"

A look of doubt and suspicion immediately appeared on the younger Jackie's face, "I don't recall having any cousins in the Air Force Mrs. Forman."

"We're distant cousins." The older Jackie interrupted. "From your mother's side of the family. You wouldn't recognize me—we've never met." Then, her lips turning up into a warm grin, the older Jackie added as she somewhat nervously extended her hand, "I'm glad to finally meet you."

As the younger version of Jackie tentatively took the Air Force officer's hand, she suddenly began to feel lightheaded. Strange, bizarre images and shapes flashed in and out of her mind so fast that she couldn't quite grasp them. Feeling sick to her stomach, she began to feel faint.

"_Where am I?" The younger Jackie screamed as pitch black surrounded her. Pushing up with her hands, she felt something solid and hard. Something that would not budge no matter how hard she pushed._

"_Let me out of here!" She screamed in terror as the solid barrier slid open. Covering her eyes from the sudden light, Jackie heard a voice—a deep voice filled with arrogance and menace._

"_Good...bring her to me."_

"_Yes, Queen Eris." A male voice answered in response._

_Rough hands pulled her out of the box and dragged her before a wizened older woman with glowing eyes. "Kneel before you goddess!" The woman commanded with the deep voice that Jackie had heard earlier. Rough hands stripped her of the gown she was wearing as they pushed her to her knees. The old woman then proceeded to walk around the kneeling Jackie, carefully inspecting. "Yes..." The old woman declared, "She will make a most excellent host."_

"Jackie?"

The woozy teenager woke up to find a concerned Donna looking down at her. "Ooooohhh...what happened?" Major Burckhardt moaned as she came to consciousness.

"It's ok, Dear." Kitty replied as she helped the major back up to her feet. "You just had a dizzy spell." The older woman remarked, her eyebrows raised, "You and your cousin both fainted at the same time—right when the two of you touched. I've never seen anything like it."

"Neither have I." Donna said to Mrs. Forman as she helped the younger Jackie to her feet. "You fainted, Jackie. So did the major." Donna said as she gestured with her head to where Kitty was kneeling next to the dark haired officer. "It was the weirdest thing."

Shaking her head, the teenage Jackie looked at her older self who was currently being helped up by Kitty. "I don't believe it. She looks so much like me."

"Tell me about it." Donna whispered back. "It's spooky."

"Are you two feeling better?" Kitty inquired as major picked her cap up from the floor.

"I'm all right, Mrs. Forman." The younger Jackie replied with a shaky grin.

"Same here." The older Jackie affirmed. "I guess it's just the jet lag catching up with me. But...I think I'd like to cut our shopping trip short today, if that's ok by you."

"Of course, Dearie." Kitty responded with a maternal look on her face. "A short nap'll probably do you good." Turning towards the young teenager who had also fainted, Kitty asked, "And how are you feeling dear. You want to go home with us?"

"Naah..." Young Jackie replied in a shaky voice, "I've still got to finish my shift."

"She can come home with me, if that's all right with you, Mrs. Forman?" Donna offered. "I can give Eric a call to pick us up."

"Well..." Kitty drawled as she considered Donna's offer, "If that's what you want." Turning her attention back towards Jackie, Mrs. Forman said, "Your cousin's staying in Laurie's old room while she's visiting you, Jackie, so you can see her anytime you'd like."

"Thank you, Mrs. Forman." Young Jackie politely responded, the expression on her face and eyes indicating her reluctance to take Kitty up on her offer.

Older Jackie flashed a friendly grin, "I understand—you've got a lot to do. I'll be around for a few days if you want to look me up—maybe we can go shopping or something—I need to get some new clothes and perhaps you'd like to help me."

Rising to the bait of a shopping trip, the younger Jackie smiled back, "Maybe." Looking back at the cheese shop where her manager stood watching curiously, she sighed, "I've got to get back to work now..."

"It was the weirdest thing..." Young Jackie said much later as she took her place in the Circle next to Kelso. "We both fainted and it felt like my head was about to explode from all the strange stuff."

"What sort of stuff?" Hyde asked, his lips curling up in a derisive smirk.

Barely repressing a shudder, Jackie responded, her voice almost a whisper, "Bad stuff. Some of it real bad. I can't..." she choked as images of people with glowing eyes and snake-like creatures flashed through her mind, "...I can't talk about it. It's just too..." Shaking her head, she staggered to her feet, "I gotta go. I need some air."

"Damn!" An utterly clueless Kelso exclaimed, "Hyde...where did you get this stuff."

A look of genuine concern briefly crossing the burnout's face, he punched his oblivious friend in the shoulder as he replied in an almost inaudible tone, "I don't think it's the stuff man. Something really spooked her."

"For real?" A suddenly concerned Kelso replied as he rubbed his sore shoulder.

"Maybe I ought to go check on her." A bleary-eyed Donna suggested as she slowly rose to her feet. "I'll be back in a bit."

"Hey!" Donna called out, the effects of Hyde's "magic cure-all" diminishing rapidly as she spotted the younger Jackie sitting on the front steps of her house, head hanging down. "You ok."

"Yeah..." Jackie responded with a shaky grin as she looked up to see the tall redhead who had become one of her closest friends, "No..." she then confessed as she shook her head. "I don't know..."

"Wanna talk about it?" Donna asked as she sat down next to her friend.

Shaking her head, Jackie whimpered, "I want to...but I don't know where to begin. It's all so weird."

"What do you mean weird?" Donna inquired, "Weird as in Fez's needs weird or weird as in Hyde's paranoia weird?"

"Neither." Jackie replied with a half-hearted chuckle. Her laughter quickly dying, the tormented young girl looked up into the eyes of her friend as tears streamed down, "Weird as in I think I'm going crazy weird."

Seeing the fear in her friend's eyes, Donna impulsively hugged her close as she cooed gently, "It'll be all right. Now...just tell me all about it."

It was as if a dam burst as Jackie poured everything out while Donna sat quietly and listened. Minutes later, the tall redhead exclaimed as she regarded her still sobbing friend, "People wearing Egyptian and Greek clothes and glowing eyes? This is the sort of thing I'd expect to hear from Kelso, but you're not making this up...are you?"

Sighing as her friend shook her head, Donna inquired, "So...this all hit you when you touched your cousin?"

"Yeah." Jackie affirmed with a nod of her head. "I also felt something else...a...connection of some sort. Like we're tied together. That if something were to happen to one of us, the other one would...I can't explain it, Donna, but it's there and it's real."

"Weird." Donna remarked as almost hysterical laughter escaped from her friend.

"I told you." Jackie gasped as she both laughed and cried.

Glancing back at the Forman home, Donna caught a glimpse of the newcomer looking at them through the bedroom window. Cocking her head slightly, the tall redhead placed a comforting arm around her friend's shoulders, "C'mon. We better get back to the others."

Watching the redheaded teenager console her younger self from the window in Laurie's room, older Jackie sighed mournfully as she whispered softly, "I'm so sorry..."

"Sorry about what?"

Turning about rapidly, Jackie immediately recognized Mrs. Forman as she entered the room. "Mrs. Forman...Kitty!"

"I hope I didn't come at a bad time..." Kitty apologized, "I just wanted to let you know that the fondue's ready and that Bob and Joanne will be here soon. Is everything ok?"

"Yeah." Jackie responded. "I just needed to get out of that uniform and take a quick nap."

"I see." Kitty replied, "It was so strange...both of you fainting like that just as you touched...I've never seen anything like that."

"Funny, isn't it?" Jackie chuckled as she slipped on a pair of jeans and a grey t-shirt. "She must have been tired too."

"Yeah." Kitty responded, her face masking her doubt, "I'm sure it was just a fluke. Well, Dearie..." Kitty smiled as she rose to her feet, "Bob and Joanne are already here. Just come on down whenever you're ready."

"I'll be down in a moment, Kitty." Jackie answered back, relieved that the usually persistent Kitty had decided to drop the matter—for now, at least. "I just want to freshen up a bit first."

"So..." A curious Joanna ventured, "You're a pilot? I didn't know they allowed women to be pilots."

"Yeah. There aren't a lot of us women pilots now..." Jackie replied with a half-truth as she forked a piece of cheese and then dipped it into the fondue, "...but they're beginning to let in more. They keep us females mostly restricted to choppers flying non-combat, but...I've clocked some hours on jets." _And an F-302 space fighter._

"Must be fun...just you up in the clouds..." Kitty remarked wistfully.

"It is." Jackie responded, her lips curled up in a warm smile as she remembered her moments in the cockpit of F-16s and F-302s, "There's nothing like it...the blue sky...the curving horizon...the green and brown...wispy clouds..."

"Wow!" Bob gasped, his mouth agape. "Wish I could do that."

"Don't feel bad, Bob." Red sniped, "Think about all those toilets you got to scrub while you were in the National Guard."

Giving Bob a sympathetic look, Jackie opened her mouth to intervene only to have Kitty beat her to the punch, "Sounds like you've got a great job."

"Yeah." Jackie agreed, "I do. It gets a bit hairy sometimes...but..." she remarked proudly, "We're doing good stuff...important stuff. I don't think I'd want to do anything else."

"Damn right!" Red agreed with a grunt as he drained the last of his beer.

"How 'bout another beer, Red?" Joanne asked as she finished her glass.

"We're all out in the fridge, but there should be some more in the basement." Kitty remarked, "Red? You wanna get it?"

"Yeah...I guess." Red groused only to have his guest come to his rescue.

"Let me get it." Jackie volunteered, "It'll give me a chance to stretch my legs a bit."

"Be my guest." Red smiled back, "And if you see the kids with any open beers, feel free to kick their asses."

"Don't worry, it'll be my pleasure." Jackie smiled back as Red laughed.

"So, is Jackie?" Fez asked as the outside door to the basement opened, revealing Donna.

"Shaken up." The tall redhead replied as she took her usual seat on the couch. Donna fibbed, "She's just had a lot of stuff happen recently and it's all caught up with her." Glaring at Kelso, she added, "And you could do more to help!"

"Hey!" Kelso opened his mouth to protest, only to be interrupted by a voice coming from the top of the stairs.

"I'm sorry if my coming down here's causing any problems." The older Jackie, overhearing Donna's words, interjected as she walked down the stairs. "I didn't mean to eavesdrop—just came down to make a beer run."

"No problems, Major." Donna quickly replied, cutting off Hyde's sarcastic remark. "Ummm..." the tall redhead began tentatively, "I was wondering if I could speak to you...in private."

"Sure." Major Burckhardt replied as she grabbed a sixpack from the refrigerator. "Let me make my excuses upstairs and I'll meet you outside by the garage...ok by you?"

"That'll be fine." Donna responded, letting out a breath. "I'll see you in a few."

"What are you gonna talk to her about?" Eric asked as Donna made her way to the basement door.

Shrugging her shoulders, the redhead replied, "I don't know. Maybe get some answers...I hope."


	4. Chapter 4

_I'm sorry this part's so short, I had intended to go a little further, but there's so much I want to do in the next chapter as it will be THE BIG REVEAL, so I want to get it right. So...what do ya'll think of Kitty and Donna—amateur sleuths?_

THAT 70'S GATE: CHAPTER 4

As she approached the garage Donna gasped as she spotted the woman she had planned to meet. It wasn't so much the fact that the major was sitting on the hood of the Vista cruiser wearing jeans and a sweatshirt that stunned her. No, rather it was the way in which she kicked her feet while she sat there waiting—just like someone she knew—someone very close to her—although the redhead would never admit that Jackie was her friend—at least not in public. Still, she was her friend. _I'm probably_, Donna mused sadly, _the only true friend that Jackie has_. Shaking away the funk, Donna took a deep breath and called out.

"Major?"

Looking up, Jackie smiled, "Come on and join me." As Donna sat down on the hood next to the major, Jackie turned her head to the younger version of her old friend, "So...how's my cousin doing?"

"Better." Donna replied, "She's still a little shaken up by what happened at the mall." Pausing for a moment as she caught her breath, Donna continued, "That's what I wanted to talk to you about."

Cocking her head in a familiar gesture, Jackie motioned for Donna to continue, "Oh?"

Sighing, Donna spoke, "Jackie...our Jackie..." the redhead clarified, "Told me some weird stuff..."

"What sort of weird stuff?" The major asked.

"I'm still trying to make sense of it." Donna answered back, shaking her head. "Thing is..." The redhead exhaled, "Some of the stuff she told me matched a lot of what Kelso told us about..."

"Kelso..." Jackie drawled, stalling for time, "Wasn't he the one talking about men wearing Egyptian style clothes appearing inside a bunch of rings?"

"Yeah. I know..." Donna laughed, "It sounds stupid. And if it were just Kelso..." The redhead declared, "I'd just put it down as being just another Michael Kelso weird thing and leave it at that. But...Jackie's...our Jackie's...story is so close...I don't know..." She admitted, "Look, Kelso might be...is... an idiot. Jackie's anything but. While my Jackie might be an annoying pain in the butt..." Seeing a flash of what appeared to be anger in the older woman's eyes, Donna quickly backtracked, "I'm sorry...I know she's your cousin and all, but you don't know her like I do. Jackie can be pretty irritating when she wants to be—and she wants to be an awful lot."

Taking a deep breath, the older Jackie remarked, "You know, maybe there's a reason for that. Maybe she's that way because she's insecure...because she's even a bit intimidated by all of you...and her way of compensating is by being...well...you know."

"Maybe." Donna allowed, giving the older woman's words some thought. "I never looked at it quite that way before, but it does make sense in a way."

"It's ok." Jackie smiled. "Distance sometimes gives you a different perspective. Anyway...you were saying?"

Nodding her head, Donna continued, "It's just that the stories the two of them told overlap each other so much..."

"Maybe they're working together..." Jackie smiled, "Maybe the two of them are setting you all up for a prank?"

"No." Donna replied, shaking her head. "I don't think so. Kelso's too stupid to come up with a scheme like that on his own and it's not Jackie's style. Besides, she told me that all that stuff she saw was after she fainted at the same time you did..." Donna asserted, looking pointedly at the major, "And...well...I don't think you're the type that goes in for high school pranks."

"No." The major replied, shaking her head, "I'm not. So..." Jackie asked leadingly, "What do you think is going on?"

"I don't know yet." Donna replied as she hopped off the car hood and began to walk away, "But I intend to find out."

"It's safe to come out now, Red!" Kitty called out to her husband, "Bob and Joanne have just left."

Stepping out of the bathroom, Red asked, "And where's the major?"

"Talking with Donna outside." Kitty replied and then squinting her eyes, carefully inquired, "Don't you think there's something odd about her?"

"I sure do." Red replied, "I feel like I ought to know her...but I can't place from where."

Sighing in relief, Kitty answered back, "I know what you mean, I feel the same way."

"Didn't you say that she was Jackie's cousin from her mother's side?" Red asked curiously.

"Yeah." Kitty responded. "That's what she told us on the ride over here."

"Then why's her last name Burckhardt?" Red inquired. "That's her father's name."

"You're right!" Kitty gasped. "Do you think she's really in the Air Force?"

"I don't know." Red responded in a quiet voice. "She's certainly spent time in the military and she's used to command—I can tell by the way she carries herself. Maybe she's military...maybe not. " Watching Donna and the strange woman talk, a sly grin briefly crossed Kitty's features. "Keep an eye on her, Red. If she comes back in, stall her for as long as you can."

"What are you planning on doing, Kitty?" A suspicious Red demanded.

"I'm just going to go up and dust our guest's room." Kitty replied with a smile as she started up the stairs. "I'll tell you if I find anything."

Shaking his head, Red watched as his house guest, her conversation with Donna finished, walked back towards the house. Sitting down in his favorite chair, Red made a production of folding his newspaper as the woman entered. "Have a good talk, Major?"

"Yeah." Jackie replied as she stretched. "I think I'm ready to hit the rack now, though."

"Can you wait a couple of minutes?" Red asked as he gestured towards the couch. "I just want to ask you a couple of questions."

Exhaling slowly, Jackie plastered a smile on her face as she reluctantly took the offered seat, "Sure...but I am kind of tired."

"I was wondering if you could give me some advice." Red smiled back as he set his paper down. "You see, my son's graduating next year and I'm thinking about pushing him towards the military. What do you think?"

Taking a deep breath, Jackie replied. "I don't know...he's smart enough..." the major clarified quickly, "But...he's a bit too..."

"Twitchy?" Red interjected.

"Yeah." Jackie smiled back, "That's the word I'm looking for."

Her lips turning up into a sly grin as she overheard her husband and the major's conversation, Kitty slipped into the room currently occupied by their guest. Making her way to the officer's opened purse, Kitty immediately noticed a pink envelope sticking out of it. Curious, Mrs. Forman took the card in the envelope out of it and examined it.

"Oh...how sweet..." The housewife and mother gushed softly, "A birthday card! To Cassie...Happy Birthday from your Aunt Jackie. Eat lots of cake and ice cream. " A broad grin on her face, Kitty noted, "She even dots her i's with hearts..." Pausing for a moment as she remembered something Donna had once told her about their Jackie, Kitty gasped, "Dots her i's with hearts!" Shaking her head, the blonde housewife quickly rejected the notion that had briefly crossed her mind as she slipped the card into a pocket in her apron, "No...it has to be a coincidence." As she was looking for more clues, Kitty heard Red's voice giving warning.

"That's for the advice, Major. I'll keep it in mind when I talk to Eric."

"Any time, Mr. Forman." Jackie responded as she approached the stairs.

Quickly exiting the room, Kitty encountered the major on the stairs. "Well..." Kitty smiled, "Good night, Major. See you in the morning."

"'Night, Mrs. Forman."

Waiting until their guest was safely upstairs, Red motioned for his wife to come over where he was sitting. "So...did you find anything?"

"I don't know." Kitty responded with a nervous laugh as her fingers grazed the card hidden in her apron. "I think I need to talk with Donna tomorrow and maybe a friend of mine at the DMV."

"The DMV?" Red inquired as he raised his eyebrows. "What are you planning, Kitty?"

Looking up at the stairs, Kitty replied in a soft voice, "I just want to know who our guest is."

After waking up and changing into her spare uniform, Jackie made her way down the stairs, smilng as the heard the sound of laughter coming from the kitchen. That, along with the whiff of fresh brewed coffee and the tantalizing sound of bacon sizzling, caused the Air Force major's stomach to rumble.

"Come on and grab a seat, dear." Kitty smiled, "You're just in time for breakfast."

"Thank you." Jackie replied as she took Laurie's old seat. Smiling appreciatively as Kitty set a plate of scrambled eggs, bacon, and toast down in front of her, Jackie took a sip of fresh poured coffee. "That tastes great, Mrs. For...I mean Kitty."

"My pleasure." Kitty smiled back as she sat down opposite her guest. "So, Major...what are your plans for today."

"Well..." Jackie sighed, "I thought I'd go down to the rental car agency if I could ask you or your son for lift and then drop my dirty uniform off at the dry cleaner and then hit the mall. I still need to pick up a few things to wear.

"I wish I could help..." Eric replied, his mouth still full of food, "But the Vista Cruiser's broken down."

"Dumbass forgot to check the belts." Red grumbled. "Now I've got to replace the alternator."

Remembering happy times spent working on the Vista Cruiser with the gruff Forman patriarch, Jackie smiled, "I can help you with that when I get back from my errands if you want."

"You know your way around a car engine?" Red inquired with a raised eyebrow.

"Sure do." Jackie smiled back. "An old friend of mine taught me everything I knew when I was a teenager."

"So..." Kitty, seeing an opportunity to get to know her guest a little better inquired, "What was this friend of yours like?"

"Well..." Jackie smiled warmly, "Friend's probably not the right word—he was a lot older than me. I guess I'd say he was more like a second father." She said as she glanced at Red. "He was always there when I needed him.

"Sounds like a good man." Red remarked.

"He was." Jackie replied, looking straight into Red's eyes before quickly glancing away, "The best."

"What happened to him?" Eric asked.

Sighing, Jackie looked down at her half empty coffee cup. "I..."

"That's all right." Red gently interrupted, "We understand. We'll get to work on the car when you get back."

"Guess that means I'll be taking you and Donna to school." Kitty remarked as she turned to Eric before addressing the major, "Why don't you come with us. After we drop the kids off, I can take you by the car agency on my way to work."

"Thanks, Kitty." Jackie smiled back. "If you'd like, I can swing by the school and pick Eric and Donna up for you—save you the trip and get back in plenty of time to help out Mr. Forman."

"Oh...I couldn't ask you to do that!" Kitty demurred.

"It's no problem." Jackie exclaimed, "I insist—it's the least I can do to pay you back for all your kindness."

"All right, then." Kitty smiled back. "The kids get out at two o'clock."Don't let them con you into taking them to the Hub. They're to head straight home and hit the books."

"Right." Jackie replied, "No playing around. Two at the school and then straight home."

Nodding his head, Red addressed his son, "You got that, boy?"

"Yes, sir." Eric mumbled as he finished the last of his orange juice.

"Good. Now finish your breakfast and get ready."

"I need to finish getting ready myself." Jackie smiled. "I'll be down in a few minutes."

"Take your time, Dear." Kitty replied. Waiting until everyone had left the kitchen, she then carefully put Jackie's fork and spoon into a plastic bag, being very careful to touch the fork only by the tip of the tines and the spoon and knife by the tip of the flat surface, making sure that where the major had handled the silverware was not touched. Slipping them into her purse, she then finished the dishes. While finishing up the last of the dishes, she noticed Donna carrying out the garbage from the kitchen window. Hurrying to the glass doors and after looking about to make sure no one was watching, Kitty called out in a stage whisper and waved, "Donna! Over here. Hurry! Before someone sees us."

"What is it?" A breathless Donna asked as she jogged over to the Forman mother.

"Here. Take a look at this." Kitty urged as she pressed the birthday card she had lifted last night into Donna's hands. " Tell me whose that handwriting reminds you of?"

Opening the card, Donna read aloud, "To Cassie, Happy Birthday from your Aunt Jackie. So..." Donna asked as she cocked her head to the left.

"Look at the handwriting!" Kitty urged.

Looking at the writing on the card again, Donna gasped, "That's just like..."

"Just like our Jackie's writing." Kitty finished as Donna looked at the back of the card and spotted what appeared to be a copyright date.

"No way!" The redheaded teenager exclaimed. "That's gotta be a misprint!"

"What?" Kitty asked as she grabbed the card from the younger woman's hands.

"Look at the back of the card, Mrs. Foreman. The copyright year."

Doing as the teenager instructed, Kitty gasped, "Two thousand and...No! That can't be right!"

"But what if it is?" The otherwise levelheaded Donna speculated. "Remember when I joked about her being a future Jackie? What if somehow she is? I know it sounds silly—hell—I think it sounds silly, but—I don't know...Her and Jackie's reaction when they touched each other...what our Jackie told me about what she dreamed about...Kelso's weird story..."

"What about Jackie's dream and Kelso's story?" Kitty asked.

"They were almost identical." Donna replied, "And there's no way her and Kelso could have gotten together to make it up—not that story!"

"Well..." Kitty declared as she slipped the card back in her apron. I don't know about her coming from the future, but I've got something with the major's fingerprints on it and I know someone at the DMV who knows someone who's good with fingerprints. I'm going to see what they say." Just then, she heard the sound of people talking. "They're coming now."

Seeing Eric, Red, and Major Burckhardt walking out on to the driveway, Donna remarked, hoping that the older woman would pick up on her intent, "What was that you were saying, Mrs. Forman? I didn't quite catch it."

Quickly understanding what the redhead wanted her to do, Kitty replied, "Because Eric's car's broken, I'm going to be dropping you and him off at school today and then taking the major over to the car rental place before going on to work. Major Burckhardt volunteered to pick you up after school, so you and Eric need to be ready when she gets there."

"Yes, Ma'am." Donna replied respectfully. "I just need to go in and get my books and say goodbye to Dad and I'll be right out."

"Ok, Donna. Hurry up. Eric..." Kitty commanded, "It's time to go."

"You heard your mother." Red scowled as he turned his attention to his son and pointed towards the Toyota, "Move it!"

"You ready, Major?" Kitty asked.

"Ready when you are." Jackie replied as she got in the front seat while Eric and Donna occupied the back.

"I'll let you know how things go." Kitty whispered to Red as she kissed him goodbye. "You try to have a good day and don't give Bob too hard a time."

""Don't worry about me, Kitty." Red replied with a grin. "I intend to enjoy my day off today. See you later."

As Kitty pulled out of the driveway, she briefly caught the major sitting beside her in her peripheral vision. _Whoever you are, Missy, I intend to find out._ Kitty thought to herself as she drove the little Toyota and its passengers down the road.


	5. Chapter 5

THAT 70S GATE CHAPTER 5

Entering the DMV after first dropping off her passengers at their respective destinations, Kitty spotted the person she was looking for seated behind a desk. "Frank!" She called out, waving her hand enthusiastically, "You got a minute?"

"For you, Kitty." The sandy haired man behind the desk smiled, 'Of course." Opening the swinging half door, that separated the office spaces from the customers, the DMV supervisor grinned, "What can I do for you?"

"Remember when I helped you out with that...problem...you had last month?" Kitty asked with a nervous laugh.

"Do I ever!" Frank sighed, "You saved my bacon—in more ways than one. I remember telling you that I owed you one."

"Well..." Kitty grinned as she took the fork and spoon, still in the plastic baggie, from her purse. "Here's where you get to clear the books. I need you to run some fingerprints off these and compare them to someone you probably have on file—Jackie Burckhardt. She just got her learner's permit not so long ago."

Taking the baggie, Frank nodded his head. "Sure, Kitty. And I know just who to ask. She's new here, but she's sharp and good with fingerprints. In fact, I have a feeling she'll be taking my place when I move on to my new job next year."

"Great!" Kitty sighed with relief. "So...when will you know something."

"Swing on by when you get off work. We should have something by then."

"Thanks, Frank." Kitty smiled as she shook the man's hand. "I'll see you this afternoon."

Returning to his desk as Kitty left the DMV, Frank spoke into his intercom, "Nola? Can you come in here for a bit. I've got a job for you."

As Jackie pulled into the visitor's lot of the old Point Place High School, her heart skipped a beat. Quickly taking out her I Phone, she glimpsed at the time before immediately putting it back into her purse. _No cell or GPS takes away a lot of the "smart" from "smart phone." _She chuckled. Noticing that she had plenty of time to spare, Jackie decided that, after checking in with the administration office, she'd take a tour of the old school. _For old times' sake._ She thought wistfully as she entered the principal's office.

"Hello." Jackie smiled as she approached the counter. "I'm Major Jacqueline Burckhardt..."

The receptionist behind the counter looked up and, seeing the major, remarked, "That's funny...we have a student with that exact same name. You related?"

"Cousins." Jackie replied, repeating her cover story. "Took a few days leave so that I could spend some time with her before reporting in to my duty station. I'm also here as a favor to Kitty Forman. I'm to pick up Eric and Donna Pinciotti when they get out of school."

"You've got a bit of wait, I'm afraid..." The receptionist replied with a frown. "Seems they got into trouble with Mrs. Olsen—their English teacher and she's given them a half hour's detention."

"I see..." Jackie drawled as she tried to keep from laughing. "I take it you contacted their parents?"

"Yes." The receptionist answered back with an evil grin on her face, "I wouldn't want to be Eric when he gets home."

"Yeah." Jackie chuckled, "i think he's going to get a new body part growing out of his butt tonight."

Laughing at the major's joke, the secretary added helpfully, "If you don't mind waiting, I can sign you in and you can see your cousin—we're having cheerleading practice out on the field and she's on the squad."

"Thanks." Jackie replied with a wide grin as she signed her name to the ledger after showing her ID. "I think I'd like that."

Jackie took her time walking out to the practice field. As she walked down through the breezeways and corridors, she smiled warmly as the students dashed to their classes, walking, talking and laughing with each other. Finally reaching the field where her younger self was practicing with the rest of the squad, the major sat on one of the bleachers and silently watched until the squad began an especially difficult cheer. Sitting on the edge of her seat, the major bolted out of her seat and enthusiastically clapped her hands as her younger self, after being launched high in the air, carried out a twist and smoothly landed! Whistling, she shouted, "Way to go, Jackie!"

"Glad you liked it." A voice, belonging to the cheerleading instructor, called back. "Why don't you come down and join us?"

As she made her way down to the field, the major held out her hand in greeting to her old instructor. "Hello."

"Afternoon. " The instructor smiled back. "I'm Ms. Fields. One of the gym teachers here and the cheerleading instructor." Looking down at the Air Force officer's nametag, the teacher inquired, "Any relation to Jackie Burckhardt?"

"My cousin." The major replied, staying with her cover story. "I stopped off to spend some time with her before going on to my next assignment."

"Well..." The gym teacher smiled back, "The squad's taking a breather now. I'll call her over." Cupping her hands over her mouth like a megaphone and raising her voice, the teacher called out, "Jackie! There's someone here to see y ou!"

The dark haired teenager quickly broke off her conversation with two of her fellow teenagers and rushed over, coming to a halt as she recognized the woman standing next to her instructor. "Ms. Fields...Ma...I mean Jackie..." She said with more than a little hesitation in her voice.

"I'll let the two of you talk." Ms. Fields said to the major and then turned to the young cheerleader, "Ten minutes, Jackie...then back to practice."

"Yes, Ma'am." Jackie responded as she turned to her older self. "Ummm..."

"So..." The older Jackie drawled, "Ummmm...how are you feeling?"

"Still getting headaches." The younger Jackie replied as the pair walked to a nearby bench. As the two sat down, the younger Jackie made sure to leave ample space between her and the older woman. "How about you?"

"A little." The major responded, "I...uh...talked with Donna and she told me..."

"So...what was all that?" Jackie interrupted, "Cause...it's freaking me out!"

"I can imagine it is." Older Jackie said consolingly, "I wish there was something I could say or do..."

"You could tell me what's going on!" Younger Jackie snapped. "I didn't tell Donna everything that I saw." She confessed as her anger subsided. "I saw other things."

"What sort of things?" Older Jackie asked as a shudder ran down her back.

Taking a deep breath and then exhaling, the youthful cheerleader answered back, "A whole lot of things. Eric and Donna...but older...and with children. Kelso with a baby girl. Mr. and Mrs. Forman, also older—with grey hair. And..." she face turned a shade of deep crimson as she continued, "...me and Stephen. We were...we were..."

"I get the idea." Older Jackie quickly interrupted.

"I need to know what's going on. What's happening to me!" The younger Jackie pleaded. "The visions! The voices! They're driving me crazy!"

Sighing, Older Jackie came to a decision. "You're right. You do need to know and you have a right to know. But we don't have the time for me to tell you now." She said as her eyes focused on the cheerleading coach who was about to call her student back. "When you get out of school. Come to the Forman's house. There, I'll tell you everything. I promise."

Breathing a sigh of relief, Younger Jackie nodded her head as she got up off the bench. "I'll see you after school."

"See you then." The major replied as her younger self took off running back to her squad. Shaking her head, Older Jackie glanced down at the time displayed on her smart phone hidden in her purse. "Time to go. School should be out by the time I get back to the office."

While the two Jackies were conversing out on the field, another meeting was taking place in the equipment room. "That was FANTASTIC!" Michael Kelso gloated as he looked up at Pam Macy who was at that moment putting her top back on.

"You enjoyed that, didn't you." Pam leered back.

"Hell yeah!" Michael exclaimed, his expression resembling, more than anything else, that of a puppy anxious for its treat.

"Want to do it again, don't you?" Pam teased as she fixed her skirt.

"Uh...yeah!" Kelso replied

"I'll call you..." Pam teased, caressing the boy's cheek as she strutted out of the room. "Maybe."

Watching as the blonde girl walked away, Kelso let out a low whistle. "Man..."

Exiting the equipment room, Pam Macy's eyes flashed an amber hue as her lips turned up into an evil grin. _Soon._ Eris, the Goau'ld who had taken over the unfortunate teenager's body thought to herself. _Soon chaos and discord shall rule._

"Here are the results of the fingerprint analysis you asked for." Nola said as she presented her findings to her supervisor at the DMV.

"Thanks." The supervisor replied as he took the papers just as the door opened to reveal Kitty. "Just in time." Frank grinned, "The prints on the silver match those of the person you asked for."

"How close a match are we talking about?" Kitty asked as her heart skipped a beat.

"For all intents and purposes, exact." Frank replied, "They're the same person."

"Could they be mistaken." Kitty asked as her pulse raced.

"No." The supervisor answered back. "As you know, every person's fingerprints are unique and these match. The person who touched that silverware is the same Jackie Burckhardt as the person who put their prints on this card."

"Oh my, Kitty fainted as all color drained from her face.

Rushing quickly, Frank caught Kitty as she staggered. Guiding the woman to a chair, the supervisor motioned for one of the clerks to bring over a glass of water. Gently holding the glass to her lips, Frank asked, "You ok? Want me to call an ambulance or your husband?"

"No..." Kitty stammered as she sipped the water. "I'll be ok. Just give me a few moments."

"Why did you want me to run those prints?" Frank asked as Kitty slowly recovered.

"I just wanted to be sure about something." Kitty replied with a nervous laugh as she slowly rose to her feet. "It's ok." She said in a reassuring tone as Frank moved to help her up. "I'm all right now." Taking a deep breath as she clutched the papers in her hands, Kitty declared, her voice still shaky, "I have to get home now."

"Take care of yourself, Mrs. Forman." The supervisor said as he watched Kitty depart. "Call if you need anything."

Reaching her car, Kitty fumbled for the keys. _I have to get home. I have to get home!_ Opening the car door, Kitty quickly got behind the wheel of the car, slamming the door shut behind her. Turning the key, she all but peeled out of the parking lot. _I have to get home—NOW!_

Pulling into the driveway, Kitty first noticed the rental car parked on the curb and then, as she got out of the car, the major and Red hunched over the engine, the major—Jackie!—holding a flashlight for Red as he turned a socket wrench.

"Red?"

Startled by his wife's call, Red bumped his head on the hood of the car. Stepping back and turning around, he scowled, "Aw Geez, Kitty! Look at what you made me do!"

"You barely touched it, Red." Kitty declared. Then she asked as casually as she could, "Have you seen Donna?"

"I think she's in the kitchen studying with Eric." Jackie interrupted as she turned away from the Vista Cruiser.

"Thanks, Dear." Kitty replied, forcing a smile to her lips. Turning to Red, she asked, "Can I get you to come into the living room? There's something I want to ask you—but it's kind of..."

"Don't worry about me." The major interjected. "I think we got it fixed, don't you Mr. Forman?" Seeing Red nod his head in agreement, Older Jackie continued, "I'll just get everything cleaned up here."

"Thanks." Red responded with a grin as Kitty grabbed his arm, ushering him into the house.

"What's this all about, Kitty?" Red asked in a low voice once he was sure the couple were out of earshot of the major.

"Not here!" Kitty whispered back. "In the house. "

Entering the house through the kitchen door, they saw Eric and Donna sitting at the table, school books open, studying.

"No, Eric. That's not it. You forgot PMDAS. You S'ed before A'ing, you dill-hole. That's why you bombed Mrs. Farrell's math quiz last week!"

"Oh!" Eric slapped his forehead with the palm of his hand. "Did I tell you how much I hate algebra."

"Eric!" Red barked, "Take your stuff and go down into the basement."

"Yes, sir." The hapless Eric acknowledged as he quickly slammed shut his algebra book and gathered his notes. "Donna?"

"Donna? Can you wait here for a moment?" Kitty asked with a smile on her face as she turned to her son, "She'll be down in a bit, Eric. We just need to talk in private."

"Go on ahead, Eric." Donna chimed in. "I'm sure it won't take long."

"Ok." Eric replied, "I guess I can study with Hyde and Fez until you get done."

"Go." Red ordered and then waited until he was sure that his son had departed. "All right, Kitty. Now will you tell us what's going on here?"

"Living room." Kitty instructed as she took the lead. "I'm going to take a quick trip upstairs and I'll be down as soon as I can."

"Ok, Kitty." Red sighed, "But hurry up, will you? I'm getting hungry and it's almost dinner time."

"I'll just be a moment, Red." Kitty answered back as she rushed up the stairs into the major's room. Seeing the purse on the end table next to the bed, Kitty opened the purse, finding two objects: one, something that looked like a flat tablet, and the other, smaller, but also black. Picking up the smaller black object, Kitty noticed a black button on the bottom of the screen with what looked like a microphone. Pressing the button, she heard two beeps and then a voice.

"_This device is password protected. Please enter your password to continue._"

"Wha..." Kitty practically jumped back. "What?"

"_Sorry, I don't understand. Please enter your password to continue."_

Setting the little box down, Kitty opened what she thought was the tablet only to reveal another device with a screen. Again, Kitty was frustrated as she saw a request for her to "Slide to unlock." Taking a chance, Kitty placed her finger on the arrow and slid it across the screen and then gasped as the image changed to reveal a series of little pictures and a little box with the words, "Password required."

"Crap." Kitty swore as she closed the tablet. Picking up both devices, Kitty bolted out of the room and rushed down the stairs. Setting the objects down, Kitty picked up the papers that she had brought with her and set them down on the table next to the devices and exclaimed, "You two are not going to believe this!"

Closing the hood, Jackie grabbed a glob of Red's mechanic's soap and worked it into her hands until she had cleaned off as much of the grime and grease and oil as possible. Wiping her hands with a rag, the major saw her younger self approach.

"Hello." Older Jackie greeted as she set her rag down. "How was practice?"

"Fine." Younger Jackie responded and then got to the point, "Now can we talk?"

Taking a deep breath, Older Jackie nodded her head. "Yeah. Let's go up to my room. We can talk privately there."

As the two Jackies entered the living room, Older Jackie immediately felt a weight in her stomach as she saw Red, Kitty, and Donna all staring at her. Looking down at the coffee table, she at once recognized her I-Phone and I-Pad, along with a pink envelope that contained her birthday card to Cassie and a stack of papers, at the top of which was something that appeared to be a fingerprint card.

Her lips turning down into a frown, the major remarked tersely, "I see you've been through my stuff."

"Who are you?" Kitty answered back, her face reflecting her fear and confusion.

"Who do you think I am?" Older Jackie responded as younger Jackie examined the evidence on the table.

Seeing the matching fingerprints and handwriting, the young teenager looked first to Donna and then Red and Kitty and finally to her older self. "No..." Younger Jackie whispered, "It's impossible..."

"Look at me, Jackie." Older Jackie urged. "Really look at me. They say that your eyes are the window into your soul. Look into my eyes."

Doing as her older self commanded, Young Jackie looked deep into the eyes of the older woman. As she gazed into those oddly familiar eyes, she saw not only pain and heartache, but also joy and yes...something else...pride. "You are..." She whispered softly as Donna and Kitty guided her gently to the couch. "You're me!"

Nodded her head, Older Jackie replied softly, "Yes, I am."

"But how?" Donna asked.

"It's a long story." Older Jackie replied, "...and I'm not sure you're going to believe most...or any...of it."

"Don't sell us short." Red answered back. "Just start from the beginning and tell us the truth."

"All right." Jackie replied as she sat down in an empty chair. "I am..." she then smiled warmly at her younger self. "I am the same Jackie Burckhardt that you all know."

"Wait a minute." Kitty interrupted as, rising to her feet, she immediately made for the bar. "I think I need a drink."

"I think we all do." Red interjected as everyone else nodded their heads in agreement.

"Ok. Wine for me...a scotch for Red. What about you Maj...Jackie?"

"I'll have a scotch." A mischievous grin then crossed her features. "And you might want to go on ahead and get Donna and my younger self a beer too." Seeing the look on Red's face, Jackie laughed, "C'mon, Red, you know they do. Besides..." all traces of humor vanished from her face as she continued, "After you all hear what I have to say, I don't think you'll mind them having that beer."

Seeing the look on the major's face, Red nodded his head once, "Go on ahead Kitty. Get them their beers." Turning his attention back to the major after Kitty delivered the drinks, Red commanded, "All right. Major...Jackie...tell us your story."


	6. Chapter 6

THAT 70S GATE CHAPTER 6

_This was a difficult part to get and get right and I'm not sure I succeeded. I tried to stick to SG canon as much as possible here, but might have strayed just a bit—I hope any SG purists here won't mind. I'm also trying to avoid violating too much 70s Show canon. As for Jackie being an Academy cheerleader—I figure by the time she began her plebe year at the AF Academy, about 1981—82, there would have been enough time for female cadets to have chosen to do cheerleading as an extracurricular. Prior to women entering the Academy, it used local college and high school cheerleaders like the other academies._

"I wonder what they're talking about up there." Kelso remarked, his eyes glancing to the door to the kitchen as he took a handful of Doritos from the bag in his lap and stuffed them into his mouth.

"You know, there is a way to find out." Eric replied in a semi-mocking tone.

"Yeah. We could go up and listen in." Hyde chimed in.

"Yeah." Fez, not wanting to be left out, quickly agreed.

"We can't all go up." Eric cautioned. "We'll get caught. It'd be better if it's just one of us."

"Good idea, Eric." Hyde grinned, "Why don't you go up."

"Yeah." Kelso agreed.

"Great idea, guys!" Eric grumbled, "That way if Red catches me, I'll be the only one with a foot up his ass."

"Hey." Hyde snickered, "We all gotta sacrifice." He then fixed his gaze on Eric, "You wanna know what's going on or not?"

Sighing, Eric nodded his head, "Yeah. I do. If I don't come back..."

"Don't worry Eric." Fez chuckled, "I promise we'll split your Candyland stash."

"You're a great bunch of friends." Eric jibed back sarcastically as he neared the basement door. Creeping down and placing his hand on the door knob, he whispered, "Now, be quiet until I get in and don't forget to close the door behind me."

Creeping as close as he could get to the edge of the bar as possible, Eric stopped and listened as he heard his mother's voice.

"All right..." He heard the major's voice, "What I'm going to tell you is classified...highly classified. I'm taking a big chance telling you this, but...if you're going to understand how I got here, you're going have to know about it.

"We understand." Red replied with a gravity to his voice that Eric had never heard before, "And whatever you tell us will remain safe with us. You have my promise."

"Mine too." Kitty exclaimed.

"We'll keep quiet too." Donna chimed in.

Looking her older self in the eyes, younger Jackie remarked in soft voice that Eric barely heard, "I guess it's pretty obvious I kept the secret."

"Yeah." The major replied with a smile. "All right. Before I go on, if there's anyone who wants to leave, you better do so now. Because once you hear what I have to say, you'll never be able to look at the world...or the universe...the same way again."

After several more moments, Eric heard his mother speak. "Go ahead, Dear. Tell us what you have to tell us."

"Yeah. We can handle it." Donna confidently stated.

"We'll see about that, Donna." The major replied. "Before you can understand how I got here, I'm going to have to tell you about the Stargate and the Stargate Program."

"Stargate?" Eric whispered from his hiding place. Forcing himself to stay concealed Eric continued to listen in.

"Stargate?" Red exclaimed, "What the hell is a Stargate?"

Taking a deep breath, Major Burckhardt explained, "To put it simply, a stargate is a way of traveling to other planets orbiting other stars without having to use spaceships."

"That's ridiculous!" Red scoffed as Kitty and Donna shook their heads in disbelief while the eavesdropping Eric's eyes practically bulged out of their sockets.

"It'd take forever to explain it." Older Jackie sighed. "I'd have to get into wormhole physics and all that to explain it in detail. Colonel Carter's the expert in that sort of stuff—she's the one you want to talk to. I just point and shoot. What I can tell you is that it is very real and it works and we've been using it for several years now."

"Ok..." Donna still trying to wrap her mind around the concept of the stargate, inquired, "When and where did you discover this...stargate?"

"It was discovered by archaeologists in Egypt in 1928." The major replied, "But we didn't understand how to use it until much later. Although..." She added thoughtfully, "...there were attempts during World War 2 and after the war to try to figure it out—but they didn't work out well."

As the eyes of his wife, Donna, and the younger Jackie turned to Red, the older man scowled, "What? I was just a Chief Petty Officer, I didn't know anything about any secret projects. Ok, yeah...there was the usual scuttlebutt about weird experiments and stuff—like that Philadelphia thing or the Manhattan Project, but you always have stuff like that in war. Some of it's true, most of it's BS. I never heard anything about any 'stargates'! Although...wait...No! Can't be! Can it? It makes sense now though..."

"What, Red?" Kitty exclaimed.

Taking a deep breath, the balding former CPO explained, "I ran into someone while I was in Pearl on shore leave—just after Tarawa. He was very quiet...twitchy, like Eric. Navy man...petty officer first class. I asked him what ship he was on and he said that he just came off a special assignment. We got to drinking...you know how it is. Well, after a few drinks, he let something slip. I didn't think much of it at the time, but after hearing the major talking about the stargate, it kind of clicks."

"What was it?" Donna asked.

"He said something about blue pools in rings and then clammed up—tight." Red scowled, "After that, he got up and left—fast."

"Might have been part of one of the early experiments." Older Jackie surmised. "Anyway. We found out very quickly that we weren't alone in the universe and that not all of our neighbors were friendly."

"What do you mean?" Kitty asked with a sense of dread, "Not all of our neighbors are friendly?"

"Just that." Older Jackie bluntly replied. "We very quickly found ourselves in a war with an alien race—the Goau'ld—the moment our first people stepped out on to another planet."

"Who are these 'Goau'ld'?" Red asked.

"Think of them as parasitic snakes." Older Jackie replied, hatred and disgust evident in her voice. "They wrap themselves around your brainstem and take you over—body and mind." Shivering as she remembered her own possession, Jackie's voice dropped to a sad murmur.

"You were taken over by one of those things, weren't you?" A sympathetic Kitty surmised as she wrapped a supportive arm around the major.

"Yeah." Older Jackie nodded her head. "One of Eris's lieutenants, Medea. She controlled me for about a year. Made me do things...things that..."

"Wait..." Donna interrupted, "You mean Medea as in 'Jason and the Argonauts' Medea? And Eris as in...the Greek goddess..." Turning to Kitty, Donna explained, "I remember reading about them in Mythology class last year."

"Yeah." Older Jackie replied, nodding her head glumly. "Most legends have their origins in fact. The Goau'ld used to control the Earth thousands of years ago until they were overthrown—with the help of one of Stargate teams that got thrown back into the past it turned out. Anyway, one thing about the Goau'ld is that they are the biggest narcissists in the universe—worse than me if you can believe that!" She chuckled nervously. "They like to think of themselves as being gods. Well, when they were in charge here, they adopted the names of the gods the ancients worshipped—or the ancients gave them their names—whichever, it doesn't really matter. It's sort of a chicken—egg thing if you know what I mean. Medea possessed me until I was rescued by another Stargate team. Our Tok'ra allies helped get her out of my body—but..." She grimaced, "I still carry little bits of her with me."

"It's all right, Dearie..." Kitty consoled as younger Jackie looked on helplessly, "Whatever she did, it wasn't your fault. You couldn't stop her—right?"

"No." Older Jackie confessed and then explained in a soft voice, "You...your conscience is still there, in your mind. It's like watching a movie. You know...when you get to the scary scene where the slasher's about to kill the woman. You see what's happening, but it's like you're in a glass cage and you can't do anything about it but watch."

"I'm so sorry." Donna consoled as Red placed a supporting hand on the major's shoulder.

"You couldn't do anything about it, Jackie. And in the end..." The Forman patriarch declared in a proud voice, "You beat it." His eyes then focused on both Jackies, "Because you're tough and smart and stubborn as all hell."

Her lips turning up into a smile, Older Jackie looked up at Red, "That's because you taught us to be that way. Anyway..." Older Jackie remarked, "It's not all bad. Thanks to the naquadah in my blood from Medea, I can use the Goau'ld devices...provided I concentrate hard enough. And...I've got built in Goau'lddar. I can pretty much instantly detect the presence of another Goau'ld inside a host body."

"In other words..." Donna interjected, "You can tell whether someone's been possessed or not."

"Exactly." Older Jackie replied, nodding her head.

Shaking his head as he tried to take everything in, Red inquired, "Ok...assuming we believe what you've just told us...and I have to admit, it's a lot for us to believe. How did you get back here from wherever...whenever...you came from?"

"Basically, one of our alien allies helped to send me back." Older Jackie answered back. "Here's the note from General O'Neill explaining what's going on." She said as she handed the note from her commanding officer to Red. "It seems Eris does something to cause a time loop in which we're stuck and the loop has its origins here."

"Point Place?" Donna exclaimed. "Aliens are in Point Place?"

"Yup." Older Jackie replied, "Point Place is ground zero."

_Aliens? In Point Place! Stargates? Time travel!_ Eric's mind reeling at what he heard, he jerked his head up, yelping in pain as he banged it on the kitchen counter.

Hearing the noise coming from the kitchen, Red gritted his teeth.

"We've got a snooper." Kitty exclaimed as Red turned his attention to the kitchen.

"All right, Eric, get your ass out here on the double!" Red growled as his son sheepishly entered the living room.

Sighing, older Jackie shook her head. "I should have known."

"How much did you hear, son?" Kitty asked.

"Everything." Eric confessed.

"Well..." Older Jackie grimaced, "You're here now, nothing can be done about that. Might as well let you stay. But..." she added, her eyes focused on the young teenager's, "You've got to promise never to talk about what you're seeing or hearing here with anyone else—especially the gang down in the basement. You're going to have to keep quiet about this even while you're doing what Hyde, Kelso, and Fez are probably doing right now."

"They're not doing anything!" Eric weakly protested only to be silenced by an all too familiar glare from the older woman.

"Eric, I know everything that's happened down in that basement—including some things that haven't happened yet." Older Jackie stated as she crossed her arms in another gesture all too familiar to the lanky teenager as an amused Red looked on, "So don't try that BS here." Then, all traces of amusement vanished from her features as she continued. "I'm deadly serious here, Eric. You're going to have to keep quiet about this—for your sake and the sake of your family and Donna. You spout off about this to the others, at best, they'll think you're crazy. At worst...you don't want to know how bad it can get."

Seeing the serious looks on everyone's face, Eric nodded his head, "All right." He said in a soft voice, "I get it. But I have some questions."

"All right." Older Jackie replied, "What sort of questions?"

"Are you really from the future and are you really..." His eyes then wandered to the younger Jackie, "Jackie?"

"Yes to both questions." The major replied.

"And there really are aliens in Point Place?"

"Yes."

"And they really do take over people's minds?"

"Yes again."

"And you really have travelled to other worlds?"

"Yes, Eric." An amused Jackie replied with an exasperated sigh. "I know this is a lot to take in..." She said as she now addressed the entire group, "So...tell you what. Why don't you all sleep on it for now and talk about it amongst yourselves. Then, if you have any further questions, I'll try to answer them for you. Ok?"

"That sounds like a good idea." Red replied, responding for everyone else. "I think we could all do with some time to let all this soak in."

"What about me?" Younger Jackie cried out. "Is this what I have to look forward to? To have some...THING...inside me? To fight and kill people and watch people get killed? Don't I have any say in what I want to be? I don't WANT this!" Tears running down her cheeks, she sobbed, "I don't want to join the Air Force! I don't want to wear a boring old uniform! I want to marry Michael and be a Dallas Cowboys cheerleader and be pretty and popular!"

Watching as he younger self darted out of the room, Older Jackie spoke in a quiet, almost inaudible voice, "I better go talk to her."

"I'll come with you." Donna volunteered, her expression indicating that she would not take no for an answer. "She needs me too."

Her eyes adjusting to the darkness, Jackie was guided by soft whimpers to Donna's room where she quickly spotted a small figure lying on the bed crying.

"She burst in here a few minutes ago." Bob remarked as he met the Air Force major and Donna in the hallway. "What happened."

"She just heard some upsetting news, Dad." Donna replied. "Don't worry, we've got it."

"You sure pumpkin?" Bob responded, his face and voice reflecting his concern. "If you want, I can get Joanne to come in."

"No." Donna replied, shaking her head. "We can handle it."

"Ok." Bob conceded, "If you need us..."

"We'll let you know, Mr. Pinciotti." Older Jackie interjected, "And thanks."

Entering the darkened room, Donna called out in a gentle voice, "Hey?"

"Go away." Younger Jackie whimpered.

Sitting on the edge of the bed, Donna placed her hand on her friend's shoulder. "I can understand what you're going through."

"No you can't!" Younger Jackie cried out. "How could you? How could anyone? To find out that you don't have any control..."

"I know exactly what it's like." Older Jackie interrupted. "Remember, I had Medea in me for over a year. I know what it feels like to have no control over what you say or do."

"Then don't make me be you!" Younger Jackie spat out. "Let me do what I want to do!"

Sighing, Older Jackie opened her I-Pad. "Funny thing is...you will want to do what I'm doing—and our life's not all bad. As a matter of fact, most of it's good. Here..." She said as she set the I-Pad on the bed so that Donna and her younger self could see. "Let me show you." She then showed them pictures of a waterfall at night under two moons, of a temple under a pink sky with two suns. "And those are just a couple of the things I've seen. You're also going to make some good friends. Remember that birthday card to Cassie? Well..." Jackie smiled as she brought up a picture of a young girl, "...here she is. And here's her adoptive mother, Dr. Janet Frasier...she's our chief medical officer. She's patched me up and saved my life so many times that I've lost count. And here are the rest of my team..." She then pointed to a picture of two men and a woman wearing BDUs, smiling at the camera. "Lieutenant Anderson..." She said, pointing to a blond haired man.

"He's kind of cute." Younger Jackie noted as she dried her eyes.

"Yeah...well...off limits." Older Jackie smirked, "Fraternization rules." She joked as she pointed to the other two members of her team, "Sergeant Rodriguez...he's the muscle of the team." She remarked, pointing to the dark complexioned Hispanic male, "And Dr. Elizabeth Stewart, our civilian specialist. They're a good group—the best." Her lips turning up into an even broader smile, "Oh...and you'll still get to cheer." She said as she pointed to a picture of herself wearing a blue and white cheerleading uniform, "Head cheerleader, US Air Force Academy, my senior year." She said as she stood up and did an impromptu cheer, ending it with a loud, "Go Falcons!" Sitting back down again, she smirked, "I've still got it."

"So..." Younger Jackie asked her lips now turned up into a slight smile, "What made me decide to join the Air Force?"

"You know..." Older Jackie remarked, "I'm not really sure. It just seemed like a good idea at the time."

"Well...what do you remember about now...I mean...this time?" A curious Donna asked.

"To be honest..." Older Jackie replied, "I don't remember too much about what happened during this time here. That's kind of weird now that I think about it. I remember everything before now really well and afterwards too, but this week and the next few weeks...it's all kind of cloudy."

"Yeah." Donna agreed. "That is weird. What do you think is going on? Do you think it has something to do with you being here with...well...you?

"I don't know." The major replied, "Maybe...could be." Shaking her head, Older Jackie smiled, "Just thinking about time travel makes my head spin. Anyway, back to what we were talking about. I'm not sure when I actually made the decision join up. After graduating high school..." she said, speaking directly to her younger self, "...we kind of spun our wheels for a while...tried one thing, then another and another, nothing really working or feeling right. And then I saw...you'll see... some brochures from the Air Force Academy and made...will make...some calls, talked to some people, took a good look at myself...where I was and where I wanted to be...and...well...it all fell into place."

"Where you were and where you wanted to be?" Younger Jackie asked, "What's that supposed to mean?"

"You'll know when the time comes." Older Jackie replied. Seeing the dubious look her younger self was giving her, the major sighed, "Look...I wish I could tell you more...but I can't."

"Because you'd risk changing the future?" Donna asked.

"Partly." Older Jackie confessed. "But also because she...I...will have to come to that point on our own—when the time's right. I know that probably doesn't make a whole lot of sense to you right now..."

"Actually..." Donna interjected, "In a way, it does. I think you're saying we have to take things as they come—right?"

"Basically..." Older Jackie responded, "Yeah." Turning her attention back to her younger self, the major said in a soft, tender voice, "The future will take care of itself. Just do what you think is right."


	7. Chapter 7

_Sorry it's taken so long to update. Partly it's because I hit a brief writer's block, partly it's because of home issues, partly it's because a loyal reader of one of my stories that I had let fall of the radar a few years ago got me back to writing it again, but I've gotten over the writer's block, taken care of MOST of the home issues, and if you'd like, you can check out my other story, "WHO ARE YOU?" on the Battlestar Galactica 2003 section._

_Anyway, here's chapter 7 and yes, things are going to go 'boom' pretty soon._

THAT 70S GATE CHAPTER 7

"Good night, Donna." Major Burckhardt said as she stepped out of the Pinciotti home.

"Night, Maj..." Donna began only to be interrupted by the dark haired officer.

"Donna, I just told you who I am. We're old friends. Call me Jackie."

"Ok...Jackie." Donna replied somewhat dubiously, her lips turning up into a smile regardless. "I guess I'll see both of you tomorrow."

"Yeah." Jackie smiled back. "You take it easy and tell the other me everything's going to be ok."

As she walked back to the Forman house, she spotted a lone figure standing next to the Vista Cruiser. "Hello, Red."

"Let's take a walk, Jackie." Red said as he began to walk to the sidewalk.

Joining him, Jackie asked, "How are Kitty and Eric dealing with all this?"

"About the same as I am." The Forman patriarch replied. "Confused, not sure what to think..." Pausing for several moments as if unsure to finish his thought, the grizzled older man finally reluctantly admitted, "More than a little scared."

"Understandable." Jackie replied, keeping pace with the older man's strides, "And...Red...you should be scared. The Goau'ld are dangerous, Eris particularly. And if Eris is here, then everyone in Point Place is in danger."

"Is she really that bad?" Red asked, "Or are you..."

"Exaggerating because of my own experiences?" Jackie finished with a nervous chuckle as a chill ran down her spine. Breathing deeply and exhaling, Jackie continued while the pair walked in the cool Wisconsin evening. "No." Jackie declared, her eyes flashing with anger. "I've seen what the Goaul'd are capable of. You thought the Japanese in WW2 were bad, Red? Try going into a village with your patrol where you're greeted as friends. Given a feast in your honor, showered with presents, and then leave, thinking you've made new friends. Only to come back later to find that entire village either slaughtered or taken away by the Goau'ld as slaves—just for the crime of showing you hospitality. Or...finding a Goau'ld torturing a child with one of his hand devices because that little kid didn't prostrate before him fast enough."

"Damn." Red whispered. "Did the kid make it?"

"Yeah." Jackie replied grimly, "I put a bullet in the head of that Goau'ld before he even knew I was there and then plugged the snake once he left the host before he could make it to the kid." Shaking her head, she declared in a voice filled with regret, "The bad thing is that every time we kill a System Lord—that's another name for the Goau'ld, we usually end up having to kill its host."

"And the host is completely innocent?" Red inquired.

"Almost all the time." Jackie replied. "There are exceptions, but generally, the Goau'ld force themselves on a host."

Red's lips curled down in an expression of outrage and distaste. That's like..."

"It is." Jackie emphatically declared. "That's exactly what it is."

"And one of those..."

"Yeah." Jackie nodded her head.

"I'm sorry." Red consoled. "So...what do we do?"

"I try to find out what Eris is up to." Jackie answered back. "And you make sure everyone stays safe." Seeing the look on the older man's face, Jackie pressed on, "I need you to do this for me, Red. I don't want anything to happen to you or anyone else. I need you to help me keep Kitty and Eric and Donna and the rest out of harm's way."

"You know I'll do that." Red stated, "Just let me know what you need me to do and when."

"Thanks, Red." Jackie smiled as she gave Red an unexpected hug, surprising the older man.

"What was that for?" Red asked.

"For always being there for me." Jackie replied as she brushed back a tear. "Even...especially...when I didn't ask for it."

"Uhhh...thank you." Red replied clumsily as he tried to hold back the tears from his eyes. Quickly changing the subject as the pair resumed their walk, he asked, "So, how are you going to track Eris down? That Goau'lddar or whatever you call it?"

"Yeah." Jackie sighed. "Problem with that is...it works both ways. She'll sense the naquadah in my blood system too."

"So if you spot her...she spots you."

"Right." Jackie nodded her head.

"Any way to track her down without getting close enough to trigger that Goua'ld thing?"

"Maybe." Jackie responded as she considered the situation. "I have an idea as to who Eris might have taken over..."

"Who?" A worried Red asked.

"Pam Macy." Jackie promptly replied, explaining, "Remember Kelso bragging about him and her at Mount Hump?"

"Yeah." Red responded, giving his companion a sympathetic look, "Dumbass."

"Yeah." Jackie laughed, "But don't worry about it...for me, that ship sailed a long time ago. We both moved on—and...believe it or not, Red, he actually doesn't do too badly with his life." Pausing for a moment, she added thoughtfully, "You might want to make sure the younger version of me doesn't find out about it, though. She...I'm...not really ready for that yet."

"Don't worry about it." Red grinned. "I'll make sure she doesn't know. So...you were saying?"

"Well...remember when Kelso said that he saw those strange men appearing in rings..."

Picking up on where Jackie was headed, Red nodded his head, "Yeah! Dummy said that an old woman was with the men and then he blacked out! That old woman must have taken them..."

"And transferred hosts from the old woman to Pam." Jackie nodded her head. "Eris is incredibly vain about her looks. She wouldn't pass up a chance to jump from an old crone's body to one like Pam's." Pausing for a moment, she snarked, "Good thing I wasn't there."

"I see some things haven't changed." Red smirked.

"Not completely." Jackie chuckled, "I can still run up an account with the best of 'em and Sam's got nothing on me in the looks department."

"What about Kelso?" Red asked, getting back to the subject. "You don't think one of those snakethings wrapped itself around his brain do you? Nah..." Red sneered, "He doesn't have anything up there for that snake to wrap itself around!"

Unable to help herself, Jackie laughed, hard, doubling over as she laughed. As an amused Red watched, he commented, "Must have been a long time since you laughed like that."

"Yeah." Jackie responded as she wiped away tears of joy from her face, "It's been a while." Shaking her head, she confessed with a sigh, "It's been rough recently."

"Tell me about it." Red simply said.

"Well...before coming here, one of my men...Rodriguez...was hurt." She explained, "Me and my team were doing recon on an unexplored world. SGC...Stargate Command... got word that the Goau'ld might be there and we were ordered to scope the situation out. Our purpose wasn't to engage...we were supposed to look and report back."

"Basic recon." Red nodded his head. "When I was conning landing craft, we'd sometimes have to land Marines for recon. Tricky missions—usually night and you try to be quiet.

"Right." Jackie nodded her head. "Anyway, if we found Goau'ld, we'd report back and SGC would send in the heavies. But..."

"Something happened." Red interjected. "It almost always does."

"Yeah." A somber Jackie replied. "A Jaffa patrol...the Jaffa are the Goau'ld's slave soldiers..." Jackie explained, "...tumbled on to our blind. We had a running fight all the way back to the Stargate. Rodriguez got hit right when we got to the Gate. I covered my team while they got away, but got tagged in the leg just as I jumped in the Gate. Left a nasty scar." Jackie finished as she lifted her dress enough to show the scar to Red.

"Whew!" Red whistled, shaking his head. I guess that must be one of the Purple Hearts?"

Shaking her head, Jackie answered back, "Nah. That's a new one for the collection. That one doesn't get seen though—Top Secret."

"Damn." Red swore. "So what about Rodriguez? He make it through?"

"Yeah." Jackie smiled. "When I left he was on light duty and swearing and chewing out every airman who crossed his path." Laughing, she remarked, "In a lot of ways, he's a lot like you. Tough, loyal, and doesn't put up with crap from no one."

"Sounds like you've got some good people." An embarrassed Red declared.

"The best." Jackie nodded her head, "But back to Kelso...I don't think they used him for a host. Besides having a brain the size of a pea, I don't think she came with another Goau'ld. They don't exactly work and play well together..."

"Oh?" Red interjected.

"Yeah. The Goau'ld are pretty much always scheming against each other for power, influence, territory, you name it. That's really the only reason we've been beating them. Well...that and the Asgard. So, we've been able to take them out one at a time...beat them in detail. But if the System Lords were to ever unify and decide to take us out together—which they almost did once..." The major shook her head, "It wouldn't be pretty."

"So, what do you think they did with Kelso?" Red asked.

Thinking for a several moments, Jackie responded, "I think they probably planted something like a mental command that he do something when certain conditions happened."

"Kind of like when a hypnotist tells you to act like a monkey when he says a certain word."

"Right." Jackie nodded her head. "Kelso's so trusting and pliable that his mind would be easily open to that sort of thing."

"So..." Red asked, "What do we do? Can you break him loose from it?"

Sighing, Jackie replied, "Not without specialists. But...we might be able to use him to get to Eris."

"I don't want to see him hurt." Red cautioned. "He might be a dumbass but..."

"Yeah." Jackie quickly interjected, "You're right. I don't want to see him hurt either. He's still a friend of mine. But there is a way he can lead us to Pam Macy and we can maybe find out what's going on."

"How?"

Jackie responded with a sweet smile, "First, I've got to put an ad in tomorrow's paper..."

QQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQ QQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQ QQQQQQQ

_Stargate Command: 21__st__ Century._

"Sir? I think you'll want to see this." CMSgt Harriman said as he entered General O'Neill's office and placed a newspaper on his desk.

At once noticing the name of the paper and the date, O'Neill immediately turned to the classified pages and, scanning the ads, spotted one that instantly attracted his attention: _To my Col. Pals: Ran into "old" friend with pals and ride, but don't have goodies to entertain with. Send fireworks and stuff to Forman Garage, around 6PM my time,COD. Love ya and miss ya, J._

"Thank you, Sergeant. You can go now." The general replied, watching as the senior NCO walked out. Touching a button on his intercom, Jack spoke, "Colonel Carter? See if you can reach Thor and ask him if he doesn't mind playing Federal Express."

"Sir?" The Colonel responded as she looked up from her work.

"Come in my office and I'll explain it."

QQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQ QQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQ QQQQQQ

"Jackie..." Red greeting, noticing the major in the driveway as he got out of his car along with Eric, father wearing his PriceSmart jacket and son wearing his smock, also from PriceMart.

"Ummm...hello..." An uncertain Eric chimed in.

"Hi, Eric." Jackie smiled. "Can you do me a favor and let me talk to Red for a bit?"

"Sure." Eric replied. "I'll be in the basement...you know..."

"Yeah...I know." Jackie snorted. "Just tell Stephen to...never mind...I'll see you later."

Shaking his head, Red remarked, "He's still...hell, I'm still trying to wrap my mind around the fact that you're our Jackie."

"It's ok, Red." Jackie smiled back. " I understand. I'd feel the same way you do if I were in your shoes."

"So..." Red asked, "What did you want to talk about?"

"What time is it?" Jackie inquired.

"Almost six o'clock." Red replied, "Why?"

"Almost time." Jackie said. "Let's get in the garage."

"Why?" Red asked as the pair entered the garage.

"Close the garage door and you'll see." Jackie answered back with a mysterious smile.

Shrugging his shoulders, Red did as he was asked. As the door closed, Red turned on the light. "All right, it's six o'clock. What's supposed to happen?"

"Any moment now..." Jackie said, the enigmatic smile still on her face.

Suddenly, a blue glow filled the garage. Then, to Red's surprise, a large military issue crate appeared near his tool bench.

"What the..." Red sputtered, not believing his eyes.

"Presents from my friends." Jackie replied with a big grin as she approached the box. Taking the note attached, she read it aloud, "Got your party favors here, Major. Plenty of fireworks and some other goodies. Don't let the little kids play with them and hope to see you soon. General O'Neill."

"Party favors?" Red snorted as Jackie released the latches securing the crate, opening it to reveal its contents.

"The best kind." Jackie laughed, "The kind that goes 'bang', 'boom', and 'zap.'" Picking up one of the items in the crate, Jackie held it up so that Red could see it. "HK G36K assault rifle. Three total. Slapping in the magazine and cocking it, she remarked, "I prefer it over the P90. The 5.56mm round gives it greater stopping power and penetrating power against armor. Here..." She said as she handed it to Red, "Get a feel for how it handles."

"Nice!" Red remarked as he looked through the weapon's sights. "Light, too."

"Yeah. Good for when you're humping it fast through rough terrain." Jackie replied, nodding her head.

Red, seeing Jackie now as a professional soldier, asked, "I take it you've used it often."

"Enough." Jackie replied with a sigh. Turning her attention back to the crate, she remarked, "There's more."

"What?"

"Pistols...M9 Baretta. Three." Jackie replied as she took stock of the inventory, "Communication gear, flashbang and frag grenades, C-4 and detonators, and..." She smiled as she pulled out a strange looking pistol, two Zat-guns."

"Zat-guns?" Red exclaimed, shaking his head as he saw his garage being transformed into an armory.

"Yeah. Goau'ld weapon. One hit stuns, two hits kills, three hits vaporizes."

"Damn." Red whistled.

"You're off tomorrow, right, Red?" Jackie inquired.

"Yeah." Red answered back, nodding his head.

"Good." Jackie smiled. "We'll give one radio to Donna so that her and Kitty can keep an eye on everyone here and while she's doing that, you and me are going to go out into the country so that we can get in some range time." Seeing the look on the older man's face, Jackie explained, almost pleading, "I might need someone I can trust to back me up...someone I know who's gone through rough stuff and can deal with it. Red...Eris is a danger to everyone here and she has zero regard for human life. She's capable of killing everyone in Point Place on a whim. I need you. Can I count on you?"

Picking up one of the Barettas and slapping a magazine into it. Red cocked the pistol as he looked Jackie square in the eyes, "Just try to keep me out."


	8. Chapter 8

_I know it's been a while since I updated, but this is a big part with a lot of stuff happening. I hope you all enjoyed it. Next story up for posting will be "Who Are You?"_

CHAPTER 8 THAT 70S GATE

"Morning, Major." Kitty smiled as Jackie entered the kitchen dressed in her BDUs. "Your breakfast is on the table." She announced, gesturing with her head at an open chair between Red and Hyde. "Eggs and bacon with toast and jelly."

"Sounds good, Kitty." Jackie replied as she took her seat. Taking a bite of her scrambled eggs, the major's mouth watered, "Oh...it's been so long..."

"So long for what?" Hyde inquired.

"So long since I've had a good home cooked breakfast." Jackie quickly explained, "I live alone, so, most of the time I just nuke something in the microwave and when I'm in the field, it's rations."

"Yuck." Red grimaced, "Don't remind me. I went through enough K-rations during the war."

"K-Rats are better than survival training, though." Jackie grimaced. "I lost twenty pounds in SERE school."

"SERE?" Kitty inquired as she sat down at the table.

"Survival, Evasion, Resistance, and Escape." Jackie explained. "If you're a pilot, you pretty much have to go through it—never know if you might get shot down behind enemy lines or in some out of the way jungle or mountain range."

"Heh." Hyde smirked, "I'd love to see our Jackie go through that. Bet she'd cry first time she broke a nail."

"I wouldn't be so sure about that." The major responded with a knowing grin, "You might be surprised at what people can do when they have to or want to. My cousin might just end up surprising you one day."

"The way you're dressed..." Red commented, "I'd say we're still on for the woods?"

"Yep." Jackie smiled. "Ready to load up the car when you are."

"Right after breakfast." Red grinned as he sipped his coffee. "Gotta admit, I'm looking forward to trying those babies out."

"What are you talking about?" A suddenly wide-awake Eric asked through a mouthful of pancakes.

"None of your business, Son." Red growled as Kitty shook her head. "Just eat your pancakes. I've got a job for you and Hyde after you finish breakfast."

"Nothing for you to concern yourself with, I'm sure." The doting mother added, responding to her son's query. Then turning to the other two sitting at the table, Kitty admonished with a frown, "You two be careful out there with those things. I understand why you have to have them, but I don't like them here."

"Don't worry, Kitty." Red acknowledged with a grave expression on his face, "You know we will."

"You're right, Kitty." The major replied in a serious tone, "And we'll be careful—I promise."

"I'm glad to hear that, Dear." Kitty smiled, somewhat mollified. "I just don't want anything to happen to anyone."

"Like what?" Hyde asked as he sauntered to the table.

"Oh...nothing for you to worry about." Kitty replied with a chuckle as she placed Hyde's plate down at his place at the table. "Here you go, Stephen."

"So...where are you two going?" Hyde asked.

"We're going out for a little hike to Sutter's Wood." Jackie responded as Hyde dug into his bacon and eggs.

"And you and Eric are going to be cleaning the yard while we're out." Red commanded.

"That's a great idea!" Kitty exclaimed. Then, seeing the sour looks on Eric's and Hyde's faces, she sweetened the deal, "And as a reward, I'll bake an apple pie for you and fix you up some lemonade."

QQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQ QQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQ

"If something happens here..." Jackie said as she handed Kitty a flat, black, palm sized object, "You can reach me with this."

"What is it?" A curious Donna inquired.

"It's a phone." Jackie smiled.

"No!" Kitty shook her head in disbelief. "That little thing? Where's the cord?"

"It's a cell phone." Jackie chuckled. "When my alien friends dropped off those supplies, they also put up a small communications satellite. Don't worry..." The major grinned, "No one will be able to pick it up on radar or anything like that and when I leave, they'll pick it up."

"So...how does it work?" Donna asked.

"Just like a regular phone." Jackie replied as she explained how to use the device. "You can also send a text message if you don't want to or can't speak."

"Damn!" Donna gasped, "You're typing by just touching the characters on the screen. "That's so...Star Trek..."

"Isn't it though." Jackie laughed. "There's a lot more you could do with it, but...unfortunately...or fortunately...there's no access to the internet yet."

"The inter-what?" Kitty exclaimed.

"Forget I mentioned it." Jackie chuckled, "You'll find out about it soon enough." Her laughter dying down, the major's voice took on a more serious tone. "If something happens, call me or text me immediately and I'll do the same if something happens from my end."

"Do you really think we might be in danger?" A suddenly worried Kitty asked as she held the black futuristic device in her hand.

"I hope not." Jackie responded. "I don't think Eris will move on you here...at least not yet. I think she's still getting used to Pam's body—there is sometimes a little adjustment period when a host takes over a new body—but not a long one. In any event, I'm probably her primary target. Like I told you all, it's not just business between the two of us—it's personal."

"Then you and Red look after yourselves." Kitty commanded in a clear, decisive voice. "We'll be all right here."

"Don't worry, Jackie." Donna smiled, "We'll hold down the fort here."

"Thanks." The major smiled as she saw Red approaching. "I really appreciate this. You two..." As tears began forming in her older friend's eyes, Donna instinctively hugged her.

"We know." Donna smiled. "Now...get going. You know how Red hates to be kept waiting."

QQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQ QQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQ

"Well...there they go." Eric mumbled as the Toyota pulled out of the driveway.

"Where did who go?" A smiling Fez, accompanied by Kelso, approaching from the other direction inquired.

"Yeah." Kelso interjected, "Where's Red?"

"My dad and Ja...the major." Eric briefly stammered before recovering. "They're going for a hike in the Sutter's Woods."

"Oh!" The exchange student exclaimed before pouting, "And they left without me."

"I don't think you want to go with them." Eric replied with a smirk.

"Why not?" Kelso asked, "I love hiking in the woods and the major's hot...just like her cousin."

"You all right man?" Hyde asked as Eric began to cough uncontrollably.

"Yeah..." Eric gasped as he regained control of himself, "I think a bug or something flew into my mouth. I'm ok now."

"All right..." Hyde responded as he paused from raking the leaves, the expression on his face reflecting his doubts. "What were they loading in the trunk anyway? I'm pretty sure I caught a glimpse of some rifles."

"Well..." Eric reluctantly admitted, "I think Dad did mention that they might do some shooting, so they probably took a couple of deer rifles."

"No." Hyde shook his head. "Those weren't deer rifles. Looked more like the rifles they use in that TV show...SWAT. They were military. What I want to know..." Hyde grumbled, "Is what is she doing with that sort of hardware?"

"That's none of our business." Eric quickly stated, immediately drawing a suspicious look from his friends.

"You're hiding something, Eric?" Stephen declared accusingly, "What is it?"

"Yeah!" Kelso chimed in, "What are you keeping from us."

"Look!" Eric shook his head violently, "It's nothing. They're just going out into the woods to do some shooting. That's all!"

"Well...I'm going to find out what's going on!" Hyde announced as he leaned his rake against the fence. "You coming with me, Fez? Kelso?"

"Oooohhh...a mystery..." The foreign exchange student smiled, "Just like Scooby Doo."

"Yeah." Hyde grinned back, holding up a candy bar. "And I've got a Scooby snack for you." Laughing as Fez snatched the candy from his hand, Stephen turned to Kelso, "What about you? Wanna see what's going on?"

"No..." Kelso shook his head, "I can't." Turning about, the dim teenager began to dash away, "Just remembered I have to make a phone call."

"Now that was weird." Hyde observed. "I wonder what got into him?"

"Who cares!" Fez exclaimed with a dramatic sigh, "I wanna go see what Red and the major are up to."

"All right." Stephen replied with a smirk as he turned to his other friend, " Eric. We're going to find out what's going on here. Cover for us. Anyone asks where we are, we had to go to the store to pick up some things and we'll be right back—got it?"

"Yeah." Eric slowly nodded his head. "I've got it." Watching as his friends took off, Eric watched as Hyde and Fez departed. Coming to a decision, the lanky teenager set down the rake and began to make his way towards the house.

"Mom!"

QQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQ QQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQ

"You've done well." Eris grinned as she looked down on her newest thrall.

"Thank you, my Queen." An even more dimwitted than usual Kelso responded as he knelt before the being that had appropriated Pam Macy's body.

"You may go now." Eris commanded, "You shall be rewarded later."

"Yes, my Queen." Kelso responded as he rose to his feet and ambled away.

Shaking her head as her subject departed, Eris muttered under her breath, "This one is even more stupid than usual." Turning to her first prime, she ordered, "Go to this Sutter's Wood. I want the murderess captured. Kill anyone else with her, but I want the one who killed my Medea brought to me alive. I have plans for her."

"It will be done, My Queen." The First Prime saluted.

QQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQ QQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQ

"Not bad, Red." Jackie smiled as the Forman patriarch fired a controlled burst from his assault rifle. "You learn quick."

"I've still got it." Red smirked.

"You sure do." Jackie smiled back, "Too bad Kitty's already got you claimed otherwise I'd be putting the moves on you." Laughing at the disturbed look on the older man's face, the major exclaimed, "I'm just kidding! Well...half kidding..." She confessed. "I did have a bit of a crush on you growing up—and, I gotta admit, even now, sometimes I feel that crush coming back."

"What?" A startled Red choked. "Are you serious?"

"Yeah." Jackie said, flashing a warm grin. "What's not to like about a man like you? You're in good shape..." _Except for that heart of yours that's going to explode one day._ "Tough, smart, a good husband and father and provider for your wife and kids. Everything a woman whose smart enough to not fall for the 'bad boys' in the first place or who's fallen for them in the past and knows better now wants in a man. Kitty's an incredibly lucky woman and Eric and Laurie are lucky to have you as a father. I wish you were my dad."

"I never knew..." Red stammered, "You never showed any..."

"Never showed any clue I was crushing on you?" Jackie smirked, "I'm going to let you in on a little secret, Red: there's a lot about me going on right now that I'm not telling anyone about—not even Donna—and she's probably the closest friend I have at this time. Not that I have many friends at this point in my life."

"Well..." Red reluctantly pointed out, "You were something of a..."

"A witch?" Jackie laughed, "Yeah. You're right. And I still am when I want to be. But a lot of that..." The major confessed, "...was a front to hide a scared and lonely little girl. Mom and Dad...well...let's just say that they had issues..."

"Your father's a crook and mother's a lush." Red stated bluntly.

"Yeah." Jackie nodded her head as she loaded a fresh magazine, "But what could I do? They're my parents. That's why I spent so much time hanging out in your basement and why I kept bouncing back to Kelso even if he was a cheating you-know-what and then went on to another dysfunctional relationship and after that one blew up, to yet another mistake until I finally got my act together."

Watching as Jackie unloaded her magazine at her target, Red cracked a wry grin. "Feel better now?"

"You know...Jackie laughed, "I do. Like I was saying, my younger self is kinda approaching a crossroads. A lot of stuff is going to be happening soon."

"Like what?" Red asked as he loaded a fresh magazine into his weapon.

"Well..." Jackie replied, "Things with Kelso are about to implode..."

"That's not all bad." Red snorted as Jackie flashed a wry grin.

"Yeah...dumping him was like dumping a 180 pound weight..." Jackie chuckled, "But—it wasn't all his fault. I kinda spooked him." She then sighed, "Problem was...I didn't learn anything from it. Like I said earlier, I'm just going to jump into yet another bad relationship with someone you know and this one's going to get serious—real serious."

"Who is he?" Red asked.

"I'd rather not say...I think I've already said too much." Jackie sighed, "Why don't we let the future sort that out. Don't worry, it's not Eric. He's going to have his own problems to deal with—he doesn't need mine on top of his."

"Can you at least tell me how Eric turns out?" The Forman patriarch asked, concern etched on his face.

"I can't reveal too much, you understand..." Jackie carefully responded, "But I think I can tell you this much: he's going to be ok—better than ok. You and Kitty did a good job with him."

"And Laurie?" Red inquired, "I notice you haven't said much about her. Is she going to be all right?"

Sighing, Jackie thought long and hard about her answer before replying, "Red...no matter what happens, I want you to always keep one thing in mind: it wasn't yours and Kitty's fault."

"That bad, huh?" Red exhaled, suddenly looking old.

"You two did all you could for her and then some. So did Eric and Donna." Jackie continued in a consoling voice, "But, you have to remember, she made her own choices—no one forced her to make them—and she had to take the consequences for those choices. I'm sorry, but that's all I can tell you. Please don't ask me to tell you more."

"I guess I'll have to live with that." Red sighed, "But it's not easy."

QQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQ QQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQ

"Sssssshhhh!" Hyde whispered as he and Fez crept closer to the sound of gunfire. "They're over there."

"Let's get closer." Fez urged, "Maybe we can hear what they're talking about."

"That's the plan." Hyde smirked as the pair carefully approached the two shooters. Finally drawing within hearing range, they caught the last snippet of the other pair's conversation.

"Who are they talking about?" Fez asked, "Are they talking about Jackie?"

"I don't think so." Hyde whispered back. "I thought I heard Laurie's name mentioned."

"Is Laurie in trouble?" Fez asked.

"Wouldn't surprise me." Hyde chuckled under his breath. "Bet she's pregnant or something like that."

"How would the major know?" Fez inquired.

"That's a good question." Hyde replied, "Let's listen and maybe we'll find out." As the two boys listened, they heard first the major's voice, and then Red's.

"How's your pitching arm, Red?"

"Not bad. I think I've still got it."

"Great. Why don't you chuck one of these practice grenades." Jackie said as she handed him a dummy grenade.

"All right." Red smiled as he tossed the grenade into the woods.

"Not bad." Jackie laughed. "Bet you could earn a spot on the Rockies' pitching roster with that arm."

"The what?" Fez muttered.

"Who are the Rockies?" Hyde whispered.

"Let me guess..." Red laughed, "Colorado's got a major league baseball team?"

"Well..." Jackie laughed, "Kinda sorta. I try to be a fan, but they don't let me. I'm more a football girl anyway. The Falcons are my college team, of course."

"Of course." Red chuckled.

"And...I pull for the Broncos when the pros play."

"The Broncos!" Red exclaimed. "The Broncos! You're pulling for an American Conference team! How could you go against the Pack!"

"Well..." Jackie laughed, "You know how it is...gotta root for the home team."

"At least it's not the Vikings or the Bears." Red grumbled.

"True." Jackie grinned, deciding not to say anything about Super Bowl Thirty-two. Just as she was about to load another magazine into her rifle, Jackie caught a glimpse of a human form in the woods pointing an object at Red. Immediately recognizing the staff weapon for what it was, the major cried out as she shoved the older man to the ground, "Red! Down! Incoming!"

As the pair hit the ground, a plasma bolt flew over their heads.

"What the..." Red exclaimed as Jackie handed a fresh magazine to the Forman patriarch.

"Jaffa." Jackie growled. "I counted two. There are probably a couple more trying to flank us."

"What do we do?" Red asked as he reloaded his rifle.

"You got defensive ground here. Stay put and give me covering fire." Jackie directed, "I'm going to circle around and see if I can take out the flankers. Then, when I give the signal, toss a grenade at the two in the middle."

"What's going on?" Fez cried out as bullets and plasma bolts flew over his head.

"I don't know." Hyde replied, his heart racing as he felt, for the first time in a long time, genuine fear, "But we're getting outta here! C'mon...let's move." Just then, a plasma bolt missed him, impacting the tree behind him, leaving a gaping hole where its trunk used to be. "And for God's sake, Fez, stay low!"

"Got one." Jackie radioed back to Red as a Jaffa warrior fell to her gunfire. "Going for the other. Keep laying down covering fire."

"Be careful." Red signaled back as he fired another burst from his rifle, feeling both tired and exhilarated at the same time as age and adrenaline fought each other.

"Always am." Jackie answered back as she crept through the woods stalking her prey.

"We gotta get outta here!" Hyde urged as a bullet whizzed over his head. "Damn. I think that came from Red."

"Why's he shooting at us?" Fez exclaimed, his hear racing.

"I don't think he was shooting at us." Hyde answered back, pointing to the two weirdly dressed men wielding those dangerous looking staffs that shot out bolts of light. "I think those are the guys he's aiming for. I hope they are." He added as he pushed Fez down. "Watch out, those weirdoes are shooting again!"

Hyde then heard another burst of rifle fire and a female voice call out, "Now, Red!"

"Fire in the hole!" Red shouted back.

Hyde then heard a thud hit the ground near him and Fez. Looking down, he saw the round object.

"Oh hell!" Without thinking, he pushed the foreign exchange student down, causing him to roll down the gentle incline. Falling to the ground as well, Hyde began to roll as he heard the explosion and then screamed as the grenade's fragments pierced his body. Then, blackness.

"I think we got them all." Jackie signaled as she took out her zat-gun.

"What's that for?" Red asked as he nodded his head at the weapon the major held in her hand.

"We got to get rid of the bodies." Jackie responded in a matter of fact voice as she knelt down next to one of the Jaffa warriors. "Yep. One of Eris's. She must have found out I was here." She muttered as she fired three shots from the alien weapon in her hand, disintegrating the Jaffa.

"Kitty...Donna...Eric!" Red exclaimed, his voice filled with a mixture of panic and concern. "You think they might have gone after them."

"Calm down, Red." Jackie urged as she took out her cell phone and punched in Kitty's number. "I'm gonna find out right now." Holding her breath as she waited, Jackie sighed with relief when she heard Kitty's voice.

"Jackie? Is that you? Thank God!" Red sighed with relief as he heard Kitty's voice.

"Is everything all right, Kitty?" Jackie asked as a worried Red listened in.

"Yeah." Kitty responded, "Yeah...I think so. Eric came in and told me that Hyde and Fez went out where you were...they wanted to see what you were doing."

"Damn." Jackie swore under her breath.

"What's happening?" Red demanded as Kitty's voice came through on the phone.

"What's going on, Jackie?" Kitty pleaded, a note of worry in her voice.

"Don't worry, Kitty. If they're here, we'll find them." Turning to Red, Jackie explained, "Fez and Hyde couldn't keep from snooping. They're here somewhere. We better see if we can find them."

"You think they might have got caught in the middle of what just happened?"

"I hope not." Jackie said as she aimed her zat-gun at another Jaffa warrior and, firing three times, disintegrated it. "Hurry up, we need to find them and get rid of the rest of Eris's Jaffa before a game warden or hunter comes by."

"Right." Red agreed as the pair began combing the woods. Moments later, they heard a loud moan. "Over here!" Red shouted, waving his arms as he came upon a frightening sight. "Hyde!" The older man gasped, "Looks like he took some shrapnel in his leg.

Seeing her old boyfriend lying unconscious on the ground, Jackie's muscles tensed. Moving quickly, she bound his wounds, stopping the bleeding.

"Fez is over here." Red called out, "Doesn't look injured, just knocked out. Looks like Stephen pushed him away as the grenade went off."

"Just like you, Stephen." Jackie said fondly to the unconscious teenager lying down before her.

"We've got to get them to the hospital." Red declared.

"Can't." Jackie responded, explaining as she saw the determined look on the older man's face, "They'd ask too many questions."

"We have to." Red exclaimed, "They're hurt too bad."

"No. I have a way to heal them—completely." Jackie countered, "But we need to get them back to your place—quickly."

"All right." Red reluctantly agreed, "But if what you've got doesn't work..."

"Then we'll take them to the hospital." Jackie agreed, "I promise."

"All right." Red nodded his head, "Let's get the hell outta here."

QQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQ QQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQQ

As Red pulled into the Forman driveway, the doors to the Toyota flew open.

"Hyde first. Then Fez" The older Jackie ordered as Red helped her take the injured teens out of the car.

"Oh my!" Kitty cried out as she saw the two boys lying on the driveway. "Donna—call an ambulance! What happened!"

"No Donna!" The major quickly interrupted as her younger self came out, gasping at the sight before her. "I've got 'em."

"We can't take care of them here." Kitty angrily protested as she knelt down next to Stephen. "Those wounds are too severe. If we don't get Stephen to a hospital now, he's going to lose that leg!"

The younger Jackie, her eyes agape at the scene before her, rushed into Donna's arms as the redhead did her best to comfort her friend. "It's gonna be ok, Jackie. We're not going to let anything happen to them."

"Hyde! Fez!" Eric shouted as Bob Pinciotti, alerted by the noise coming from his neighbor's yard, rushed to investigate.

"What the hell?" The fuzzy haired Bob exclaimed.

"Red!" The older Jackie directed. "In that box, you'll find a small box with two disc shaped objects. Bring those to me." The major then looked Kitty square in the eyes, "Kitty. I promise you. I know what I'm doing. Red's going to bring something to me that will completely heal both Hyde and Fez. You know I wouldn't let anything happen to them."

Quickly returning with the discs, Red asked, "What are they?"

"They're Goa'uld devices." Jackie replied as she slipped a disc on each of her palms. "They only work if you have naquadah in your blood."

"Like you..." Red interjected, his eyebrows raising as he saw the discs begin to gently glow.

Nodding her head, Jackie continued, "Like me. The naquadah in my blood from Medea lets me use the device."

"So...you're saying that these things will fix up Stephen and Fez's wounds?" A disbelieving Kitty inquired

"Yeah." The older Jackie replied as her younger self looked on. "They can be used to heal...or cause pain—a lot of pain." Jackie bluntly replied. "It depends on what the user wants." Pausing for a moment, the major sighed, "I've been the recipient of both from those things and I've dished out both with them."

"When you were Medea?" Donna inquired.

"Yeah." Jackie nodded her head, "And...afterwards a few times...when I had to—like right now."

Taking a deep breath, the older Jackie concentrated as she looked down on Hyde. Ignoring the gasps of astonishment from her onlooking friends and her younger self, Jackie passed the discs over Hyde's wounds, slowly mending the lacerations and torn tissue. Ignoring her growing fatigue, Jackie continued until she was sure that Stephen was completely healed before turning her attention to Fez. Repeating the procedure, Jackie gritted her teeth as she felt the energy draining out of her, refusing to stop until her other friend's injuries had also been healed.

"If I hadn't have seen this..." Kitty whispered as the older Jackie finished, "I wouldn't have believed it." Then, startled, Kitty cried out as the major slumped to the ground, "Red! Bob!"

"Jackie!" Red exclaimed as he rushed to the major's side.

Quickly feeling her pulse, Kitty announced to everyone. "I think she'll be ok. She's just exhausted. Poor thing...using those devices must have taken everything she had out of her."

"What happened?" Fez called out as he sat up. "What am I doing here?"

Groaning, Hyde slowly stirred.

"Just lie there for now." Kitty ordered, as she turned her attention to Stephen. "We'll get you to your bed soon and you're going to get some rest."

Picking the older Jackie up in his arms, Red gently cradled the major. "I'll get her to her bed."

"Damn." The younger Jackie exclaimed softly to her redheaded friend as she saw Red carry her older self off, "I did that."

"Yeah." Donna smiled, her expression one of pride for her friend as a mystified and confused Bob Pinciotti looked on, "You sure did."

"What the hell is going on here? Bob demanded.

"We'll tell you later, Bob." Kitty replied with a stern expression on her face. "For now, why don't you help me get Stephen to his bed."

Laying the fatigued Jackie down on her bed, Red looked down proudly on the major, "You did good, Jackie. Damn good."


End file.
